Your Enemies Closer
by IWillNeverLetYouDown
Summary: A/U: Arizona has been the starting goalie for the UNC lacrosse team for the last three years. There was no doubt in her mind that she would keep that spot for her senior year. That is, until a new hotshot keeper comes to play for Tar Heels. It doesn't help that this new goalie is gorgeous and talented. Will Arizona be able to fight their inevitable connection?
1. Chapter 1

**Just a teaser for a possible story. Let me know what you think. This is my first in this fic.**

* * *

Chapter One

Sweat rolled down her forehead, coating her face in a sheen layer of the watery mix. Before she had the chance to wipe it away, the sound of a whistling blowing invaded her hearing. Inwardly, Arizona wanted to cry when she heard the sound, but, like Pavlov and the dog, she was conditioning to not cry and to go. To always go.

So she did. Taking off in a full out sprint, Arizona watched as she passed yard after yard on the field until she finally made it down to the other end of the field. Looking to her sides, she noticed only a few of her other teammates had crossed. Luckily, the whistle hadn't sounded yet, meaning the other girls had at least a few more seconds to cross the coveted line in time.

"Push it! Come on!" Arizona yelled as she turned around to cheer on the rest of her teammates. "You're almost there!"

Arizona's roommate Teddy crossed the line next, almost collapsing when she did. For a second, she thought that her best friend was going to vomit, but Teddy held it together, resting her hands on her knees as she hunched over.

"Hey, good work, Teds," Arizona said, walking over to pat Teddy on the back and hand her a bottle of water.

Before Arizona had the chance to walk over and congratulate all her teammates on passing the test, that annoying whistle sounded, which really confused the blonde. The test was over, so she wondered why Coach Webber wanted them over.

"Ladies, bring it in!" He called out in a bellowing voice. "Hustle it up."

The team jogged in to a circle around Webber. Each woman breathing heavily and wiping sweat off their foreheads with their practice shirts. The heat was unbearable at times—humid, hot and sticky—which sucked when they had fitness practices. But Webber, as good of a coach as he was, disregarded the heat (ok, well, not all the time, but for the most part he did).

A small breeze rolled in, and it felt like heaven. The breeze contrasted with the heat for a split second, and Arizona forgot all about the hell she just endured. She saw the same looks of happiness cross her teammates' faces for a hot second.

Webber looked around before speaking. "I am proud of you ladies today. That was the best results overall in all the years I've coached here. I can't wait to see where we go this season." Again, he scanned the group, making eye contact with Arizona and giving her a small smile. "But, before you cool down, I wanted to tell you some good news. Recently, I received word that one of the best keepers in the nation wants to play for our team."

Within seconds, murmurs spread like wildfire throughout the circle of lacrosse girls. But Arizona stood shocked, speechless actually. Because, for the last three years, she had been the starting keeper. She worked her ass off in high school to score an athletic scholarship to one of the best programs in the nation. And, since her freshman year, she never missed a game or, really, a single second. People always doubted her, too, because of her size. Most goalies weren't super small, but Arizona was—at least for lacrosse goalie standards. But she made up for it in agility and speed in the circle.

Now, though? They had some hotshot new girl coming in, threatening to take away Arizona's starting spot her _senior_ year. This had to be some joke.

"Quiet down," Webber shushed, eyeing the girls, who all clamped up immediately. "Her name is Callie Torres. She was one of the top recruits a couple years ago, but she tore her ACL and lost her scholarship to Syracuse. These last two years, she took studied at a community college while working at her family's business. Now, she's ready to make a comeback. This will be her junior year, but her first with the Tar Heels."

Faces light up, all except Arizona's and, because Teddy was her best friend, Teddy's, too.

"Oh, and she needs a place to live. I heard there is an open room at the lacrosse house," Webber said, looking straight at Arizona and Teddy. "I expect that those who live there will graciously welcome her into their home. She arrives tomorrow. Now, cool down and stretch and we will see you tomorrow for our first official fall ball practice."

With that, Webber left the field, the other coaches following his lead. Arizona watched as the girls started talking about this new keeper—they all kept their voices low, trying to not agitate the blonde anymore. But that was impossible. Arizona felt like punching a wall. No, punching this Callie Torres's face.

Teddy saddled up next to Arizona, putting a hand on her shoulder before saying, "Arizona, you have nothing to worry about. You're third in the country for saves percentage, and you've set school records for saves in a season. Don't let this get to you."

Turning to face Teddy, with a small, forced smile on her face, Arizona nodded before taking off on a slow, cool down jog. Her legs ached from all the sprints they had to do today, but she pushed through it, finishing the cool down. As she stretched, Teddy sat down next to her, obviously not done trying to console Arizona.

"Teddy…" she warned.

"No, Arizona, I am going to talk and you're going to listen because you're my best friend and you're upset," Teddy commanded. "Also, we really need to talk about how this Callie chick is now going to live with us because I will not let you be rude to some girl we don't even know."

Sighing, Arizona shook her head. "I know, I know. It's just, God, why? Everything was going great. Like, so great, Teds. For once, things have lined up for me. But now? Yeah, well, it's all super sucky. Webber is basically forcing me to live with the girl I am competing for a spot with!"

"Just…I don't know, Arizona. Maybe meet the girl first before you make her your sworn enemy?"

Arizona squeezed her eyes shut and evened out her breath. She had to be the bigger person. No, she was the bigger person. She's dealt with a lot of shit in her life and she handled it. So, she could handle this. Whoever this Callie Torres girl was wouldn't get to ruin her senior year.

No, she definitely wouldn't allow that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry that it's not super long! Normally, I write a little more than this, but I have two huge papers due in less than two weeks, plus exams and quizzes and more papers. And it's not going to all be peaches and cream with these two for a while. I mean, they are fighting for the same spot. And Arizona can be stubborn at times so...**

* * *

Chapter Two

"She's coming in about ten minutes," Teddy started, glancing over at Arizona with a warning look on her face. "And remember, Arizona, she is our _teammate_. That means you and her are on the same team. Got it?"

Arizona smirked slightly at her friend's last statement, earning a glare from the other blonde.

"No, not that team, Arizona. Your head, I swear, is always in the freaking gutter," Teddy exclaimed. She had moved from the end of the couch and closer to Arizona, which only meant one thing—that Teddy was about to get all serious and Arizona hated serious.

"Listen, Teddy, I've been celibate for about two months here. I'm on a dry spell. We better hope this Callie Torres is butt-ass ugly. Because I can't handle it if the girl who might take my spot is gorgeous. I'd probably cry," Arizona rambled on. "God, I need to get laid soon."

Before Teddy could respond to Arizona, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway pulled the two out of their conversation. Peering out the living room window that faced the front yard, the friends looked in awe at the car that was now situated in the driveway. Of course, perfect goalie Callie drove a white, convertible Mustang.

"That car is…"

"Gorgeous," Arizona finished. But she wasn't talking about the car at this point. No, she was talking about the woman exiting the car. The first thing she saw was long, tan legs that—who cares about the cliché—went on for days. Next, Arizona's eyes found purchase on perfectly curvy hips and, inching her gaze upwards, _very_ good breasts.

But nothing even compared to the Latina's face. Arizona could swear that she was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life. Looking at her made Arizona's heart pound—and fast. It felt like her heart wanted to jump out of her chest and go for a run.

As gorgeous as this Callie Torres was, it made up Arizona's mind: she had to leave the house, right now and really fast. Why did she have to joke with Teddy about her being beautiful? Of course, fate would have it that she was.

"I've…you know what, Teds? I forgot that I have to get my...," Arizona paused, "I have to go to the supermarket. Yeah, I need to buy, um, lemons. I need lemons. Ok, bye."

Teddy lunged forward, grabbing a hold of Arizona's wrist only milliseconds before she got away. Instead of relenting, the fact that Teddy was trying to keep her here only fueled Arizona's desire to leave, so she started to run, pulling the blonde on the couch with her.

"Let go!" Arizona rumbled. "Teddy, I swear."

"You swear what, Arizona?" Teddy challenged the trying-to-escape blonde.

In a flash, before even Arizona realized what she was doing, she turned around and pounced on Teddy. She hoped this diversion—her literally body slamming Teddy—would give her a split second to unlatch herself from Teddy's grip and run away. But, as it would be, Teddy had no plans on letting Arizona skip out on meeting their new teammate and roommate.

"You wanna fight dirty, Robbins? You got it!" Teddy yelled, turning Arizona around and pinning her back onto the couch. Arizona had a death grip on Teddy's waist, and, for a second, the position they were in looked really comprising.

Before they could get out of said position, the front door to the house creaked open. Arizona heard nothing, though, and kept trying to struggle out of Teddy's lockdown. The second she got of this grip, the second she left the house and had time to think about how hellish her life had become.

"Um, hello?" A husky voice timidly said. "Am I…well, am I interrupting something?"

The two stopped wrestling, looking like deer in headlights when they turned around to see Callie. She stood there, her left hand on her hip and her face scrunched up in confusion. A few suitcases were set down right next to her. As much as Arizona hated to admit it, the brunette was even more stunning closer up—not that should've surprised her.

_Arizona, snap out of it! One, she's your enemy. Two, she's your teammate. Three…well, just no. You cannot think of her in any way other than competition. Because screw what Teddy said about being teammates. I _will_ start, _Arizona told herself.

At that moment, with Callie standing there looking beautiful, Arizona decided that the only way she could block her attraction for the Latina is by closing herself off from her.

"Yeah, actually you were," Arizona snapped out of nowhere, earning a glare from Teddy. Callie just shrugged her shoulders, but Arizona noticed a slight drop in the other girl's demeanor—a sadness just underneath the surface.

"Well, um, sorry," muttered Callie.

Teddy stepped forward, smacking Arizona on the back as she did. Arizona watched as Callie awkwardly stood there, unsure of what to do. She wanted to sympathize with the Latina, but all she could think about was how Callie could possibly take her spot—and how damn attracted she was to her. Arizona swore she noticed Callie checking her out, too. Not obvious, but enough that Arizona felt someone's gaze burning a hole in her skin.

"Sorry about her," Teddy said. "I'm Teddy. And that," Teddy jerked her thumb towards Arizona, who started to slink back against the wall, "is my dumbass friend Arizona. And you must be Callie Torres? Hotshot goalie?"

Callie chuckled this cute, little laugh before rolling her eyes. "I don't know about hotshot, but, yes, I'm Callie. I've heard a lot about you two from Webber. You guys sure you don't mind me bunking up here?"

Gesturing to her bags, she gave a small smirk.

"Not at all," Teddy spoke up. "Right, Arizona?"

"Right," Arizona mumbled quietly.

* * *

Music blared loudly from Callie's room—at almost midnight. To make matters even more annoying, the woman was singing along with the music, belting lyrics like it was no one's business. Except it was.

In her own room, Arizona threw her pillow over her head, trying to block out the sound that came from across the hall. Even underneath her really comfy pillow, though, she could still faintly hear Callie's singing. Groaning, Arizona jumped out of bed, not realizing at the time that she only had on a moo-moo (no one besides Teddy knew she wore one).

In a flash, Arizona pounded on Callie's door. For a few seconds, Arizona thought that the Latina wouldn't answer, which prompted her to turn the doorknob and push open the door. If she wasn't so annoyed, Arizona probably would have laughed her ass off at the sight on the other side of the door—that sight being Callie Torres dancing around in her underwear, signing into a brush as if it was a microphone.

The brunette didn't notice Arizona—or hear her—because she kept dancing and singing along, her eyes closed tightly as she belted out the last words of the song. Once it ended, Callie opened her eyes and stopped moving at all.

"What the…" Callie started.

"I know you're new and all, but it's almost midnight and you're super loud," Arizona stated, tapping her foot. "Some of us have to start class tomorrow and need a good night's sleep."

She tried to not be so sassy because Arizona Robbins was not a jerk, but this woman brought out the other side of her.

"I'm sorry." It looked like Callie wanted to say more, and, after a few seconds, she did. "You know what? I'm not sorry. I mean, ok, I am. I should be more respectful and whatever, but you need to be respectful, too. What did I do to make you hate me? You've only known me for a half a day!"

Arizona huffed. "You know what I don't like you? You came here, out of nowhere I might add, and are vying for my starting spot. I've started the last three years, and, if you think you're taking my spot my senior year, you've got another thing coming."

Sitting down on her bed, Arizona watched as Callie shook her head, letting out a puff of breath in the process. With Callie's hair down in waves and only underwear and a t-shirt on, Arizona felt herself get turned on slightly, but she pushed those feelings down.

"Wow. Ok."

Arizona almost apologized. She actually opened her mouth to apologize because she felt like a total bitch, which was not who she was. But before she said anything, Callie started talking again. And rapidly. Like really fast. And some of it sounded like it was in Spanish.

"Fine, if you don't want to like me, that's ok. But you don't even know, for one. Also, we're teammates. That means that we play together regardless of who is on the field. So get off your high horse. Whoever is the best will play, ok? I didn't come here to screw you out of a position. I came here because it's the only place that would give me a full ride. And I need a full ride because my parents disowned me and took away all my money! So lay off."

That was when her heart dropped.

"Fuck," Arizona quietly said.

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm sorry."

Callie stood up and walked closer to Arizona. The smell of Callie Torres invaded her senses—literally, it attacked her but in a good way. Honestly, she couldn't pinpoint the smell, but all she knew was that it was heaven. Briefly, Arizona wondered what Callie thought of _her_ smell before she tossed those thoughts aside.

"It's whatever. Let's just agree to stay out of each other's way. That might be easier," Callie extended her hand, which Arizona grasped. The moment the two hands touched, a tingle rocketed through Arizona's body. "Oh, and, by the way, nice moo-moo."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for all the reviews! I finished a lot of my homework this weekend (and my exam is tomorrow) so hopefully I'll be able to update again this week. No promises, though.**

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Chapter Three

The first class of the day came and went—uneventful for the most part, although Arizona could tell most of her fellow classmates were nursing a hangover from "syllabus eve" festivities. The next two classes she had were for her major. The first was microbiology, and she only heard awful things about it. And the professor was a dick.

Slinging her backpack on her shoulder, Arizona headed to micro. When she entered the room, she noticed only a few people were in the room, which actually surprised Arizona since she was 15 minutes early. Instead of pulling out her notebook, she opted for her phone.

After a few minutes, Arizona heard more people trickling in but paid not much attention to them. As far as she cared, they were competition—grad-school competition. Just like with lacrosse, Arizona prided herself on being the best. And, with biology, she excelled.

"This seat taken?" A familiar voice asked, and, before receiving an answer, the person the voice belonged to set down their bag on the desk across from Arizona.

"Guess not," Arizona mumbled, looking up to see Callie Torres a few feet away from her. So much for staying out of each other's way. "You're a bio major?"

Part of Arizona wanted to curse the gods for doing this to her. First, Callie could take her starting spot. Next, Webber forces Arizona to let her live across the hell. Now, she's in her major. And, as if it couldn't possibly be any worse, Callie was smoking hot—and Arizona was extremely attracted to her.

This is her life now. Her perfect senior year down the drain.

"Yep," Callie replied as she fiddled on her phone. Arizona watched as a hint of a smile ghosted across Callie's plump lips as the Latina read a text message. Not that she was creeping on her teammate/roommate/classmate's phone conversation. No, she wasn't at all.

"Great," Arizona again mumbled under her breath. "Please tell me you suck at school. I can't handle you being a genius, too."

Laughing—because of course Callie would laugh at that—Arizona watched as Callie rolled her eyes at what she said. Only the Latina could make eye rolling look sexy. Arizona tried to calm her racing heart but there was no use. She had to accept that she was attracted to Callie (against her will).

"I don't think you want to know the truth, Robbins," Callie told her. Without saying anymore, Callie turned around and faced the front of the room again right in time for the professor to walk into the classroom.

Groaning internally because she hated this professor, Arizona squirmed in her seat. The professor set his briefcase down on his desk, opening it up and retrieving a bunch of papers that Arizona assumed were the syllabi. Setting the papers on the desk next to the briefcase, the professor turned to the chalkboard and started writing.

"This is microbiology, only available to juniors and seniors. If you're not a junior or senior or a biology major, I expect to you to pack up your stuff and leave. Those who are in the right class, welcome. My name is Professor Burke," he stated as he handed out the syllabi. "This course is designed to test you academically. We will be learning various disciplines this semester, including virology, mycology, parasitology and bacteriology."

The rest of the class went by extremely slow. Professor Burke actually wanted to start notes on the first day—shocker—and he took up the entire class time allotted. At the end of class, he stopped everyone from leaving to announce homework.

"Good first day, students. Your first homework assignment is actually a group project. It is due in a week. You will research a virus and tell me about their structure, classification and evolution, among other information. And you have already been paired with someone from the class," he said. "Johnson, you're with Nichols. Grey, you're with Sloan."

He kept naming off pairs until the only two people left were Callie and Arizona.

"And Robbins and Torres."

Fuck the gods.

* * *

"I'm telling you, Teddy, there is no escaping her," Arizona huffed. "It's as if fate is trying to bring us together. And I don't even believe in fate!"

Arizona and Teddy were sitting at the bar, each nursing a drink in their hand. Arizona had a rum and coke while Teddy was sipping on a beer. It was an average night at Joe's—maybe a little more packed than usual but not by much. It seemed a lot of students stayed in for some reason. Not that Arizona minded. She loved the quaint little bar, especially when it was a slower night.

Taking a sip of her drink, Arizona sighed softly, letting the music fill her up. Teddy stared at her beer for a hot second before deciding to respond.

"You do believe in fate, you cheeseball. I know you do. And maybe this is a good thing that you're being paired with her. Maybe you two will finally stop acting like children and actually get along instead of this back and forth bullshit you've got going on," Teddy said. "It's annoying. I mean, if you're not going to be friends, at least fuck and get it out of the way."

Wide-eyed, Arizona spit out the alcohol in her mouth. Smacking Teddy's arm, Arizona looked at her friend incredulously.

"Teddy!" Arizona squealed. "What are you talking about?"

Before she could say anything, the door to the bar opened and fate stepped in again. Wearing a pair of dark jeans, a crisp, white blouse and heels, Callie walked into the bar looking like she came from a photoshoot. Arizona could feel herself salivating. But she tried to pull herself together so that Teddy wouldn't say anything. Too late.

"That's what I'm talking about," Teddy said, nudging Arizona in the arm. "You stare at her like a piece of meat! I actually think you like the fact that she's your competition because it gives you a reason to not like her and not put your feelings out there."

Arizona stood up quickly, at once feeling the alcohol hit her. Yeah, she definitely was tipsy. Actually, scratch that, she was drunk. Three rum and cokes would do that to the blonde. Plus, she had a shot of tequila with Teddy the second they two meandered into Joe's.

"Where are you going?" Teddy asked. Arizona shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to answer Teddy on both accounts (one being the fact that she liked Callie). Instead, she hit the dance floor. Something she normally wouldn't do because she actually hated dancing.

The popular song 'Shut Up and Dance' came on the second Arizona started to dance, and she felt that it was an omen, that she was meant to dance right now. Or, at least, that's what her drunk mind told her. Swaying her hips slightly, adding in a fist pump here and there, Arizona let the music take over. All of a sudden, even with her eyes closed, she could tell that Callie was watching her.

After the Latina walked in, Arizona saw her head to the opposite side of the bar, sliding into a chair far away from her. Instantly, Arizona could feel the sadness emanating from Callie. She carried it with her—not obviously but apparent enough for Arizona to pick up.

Ignoring the pangs of guilt coursing through her body, the blonde kept dancing for the remainder of the song. For once, she felt free. Once the song came to an end, she opened her eyes and the second she did, her gaze connected with Callie's. Both didn't let go of the gaze but neither smiled or did anything but stare. Arizona was the first to drop her eyes, exiting the dance floor and settling next to Teddy at the bar again.

"You're a strange bird, Robbins. I'll give you that. Oh, and nice eye fucking with Callie," Teddy snorted as Arizona signaled for the bartender for another drink.

"Ok, so maybe I'm attracted to her. But only to her looks," Arizona started. "She makes me so angry! Coming in here and trying to take my spot. Not to mention the singing fiasco last night. She's fucking perfect, Teds. It's annoying! Why aren't you annoyed?"

Teddy laughed out loud, putting her hand on Arizona's shoulder. "Because I don't like her. Yeah, maybe you're only attracted to her looks, but I have a feeling that if you got to know her, you'd like her personality, too. I actually talked with her last night and she's really cool. Give her a chance? At least, please start acting like a mature adult around her."

Arizona nodded, affirming that she could do that. Out of the corner of her eye, the blonde saw Callie stand up, throw some change onto the bar top and head to the bathroom. Feeling ballsy, Arizona told Teddy to hold up because she had to pee.

With confident steps, Arizona pushed past the throng of people surrounding the area nearest to the bathrooms. The area reeked of booze and cigarettes, which made sense since it was close to the back door. Finally, she pushed open the door to the women's bathroom, noticing that Callie was standing in front of the mirror, dabbing her eyes with a paper towel. Arizona could tell she was crying.

"If you're even going to say anything about how this is your bar or some shit, please don't," Callie pleaded. "Because I can't handle your attitude right now, quite frankly."

That's when Arizona realized how much of a bitch she had been the last day. But she couldn't help it. Honestly, she couldn't even explain it. However, she could convey something with Callie. Something she would never do without the help of her best friend, Liquid Courage.

Walking closer to Callie, who had now turned away from the mirror and was facing the blonde, Arizona opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She stopped inches away from Callie—so close that she could smell what the Latina had been drinking (something with vodka for sure). Her eyes met the brunette's, a soft expression coming over Arizona's face.

Boldly, Arizona reached out and wiped away a stray tear falling down Callie's face. God, she didn't really even know this woman at all. Really, she didn't. And this was crazy, what she was about to do. But she couldn't stop herself. She didn't even know what team the Latina played for anyway. Oh well.

Ever so slightly, Arizona brushed her lips across Callie's. It was tentative and brief but shocks ran through the blonde's body. Pulling away, she dropped her hands (that had found purchase on Callie's curvy hips subconsciously) and stepped back. She still didn't say anything as she slowly left the bathroom.

Arizona approached Teddy. "I kissed her. Holy shit. I kissed Callie."

Teddy's mouth was agape before a smirk played on her face. Shaking her head, that smirk still on her damn lips, Teddy spoke, "You're so screwed, Robbins. I can't wait to see how this one plays out."

* * *

**Well, well. **

**Wonder if Arizona will remember this in the morning. And, if she does, what will she say and do? Remember that things aren't going to be easy for them. They haven't even started season yet (and, subsequently, vying for each other's starting spot). Things are about to heat up!**

**Let me know what you think! **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Squeezing her eyes together tighter, Arizona slowly hit her alarm clock in an effort to turn off the offending noise. The complete darkness of the room didn't help wake up the blonde. In contrast, it made Arizona want to snuggle up in her queen bed with her fluffy pillows for a little while longer. Humming to herself, she agreed that she could afford another five minutes of sleep. That was, until Teddy burst through her door.

"Arizona!" Teddy yelled, causing Arizona to jump and sit straight up, a headache already throbbing in the back of her head. "What the fuck are you doing? We have our six am!"

Cursing loudly, Arizona scrambled out of her bed as she checked the time on the clock. After last night's drink fest, she completely forgot about their morning practice. Webber usually scheduled two a week during the offseason, and, since the school year just started and lacrosse was a spring sport, the practices began this week. Fall ball, which was what they called their offseason training and practices, was fun but it took its toll.

And, clearly, Arizona screwed herself over by drinking to oblivion last night.

"I'm coming! Give me five minutes," she replied, hastily grabbing shorts and t-shirt from her dresser. Rushing out of her room, Arizona sprinted to the bathroom. Forgetting for a second that someone besides Teddy and her lived there, she pushed open the door to the bathroom without knocking.

Her stomach felt queasy—damn rum and cokes—and the first thing she planned on doing in the bathroom was vomiting. She had to get it out of her system or she would puke at practice, something that would _not_ look good for her. Normally, she made it a priority to not drink 48 hours before any lacrosse event, but Teddy convinced her otherwise. She told Arizona that they were seniors and it was ok to grab a drink or two.

Yeah, she was never listening to her friend again.

But, as she entered the bathroom, making a beeline to the toilet, she ran into a very solid somebody. And that somebody was Callie. The Latina had a toothbrush in her mouth, her hair in a loose bun. Morning Callie was sexy, Arizona noted, before her eyes grew wide at the remembering of what she did last night.

_Holy fuck_, Arizona thought.

There was no way that the brunette didn't remember the kiss, if it could even be called a kiss. Ok, it was a kiss, she admitted. But whatever. She'd play it off as if she was too drunk to remember it because there were so many things wrong with kissing Callie. Like the fact that she lived in the same house, played for the same lacrosse team and was probably straight as a nail.

"I was just leaving," Callie said in a small voice. Arizona watched as blush ran up Callie's face. "Bathroom's all yours."

The irony wasn't lost on Arizona that they were both in a bathroom again together. Running her fingers through her unruly hair, she side stepped as Callie walked past her, the Latina's side brushing Arizona slightly. At that moment, all she wanted to do was pull her back into the bathroom and kiss her, this time more firm and powerful. But the other woman still grinded her gears and nothing changed from yesterday.

"By the way," Arizona started, "we have a bathroom schedule. Get used to it."

Callie, almost out of the bathroom completely, turned around and walked back in, shutting the door swiftly behind her. Arizona shrunk back against the wall, not knowing what was going to come out of Callie's mouth. Arizona tried to not be a bitch but it was inevitable. She couldn't help it, and that pissed herself off.

"You are so…" Callie paused, "so fucking infuriating! First, you're a jerk to me out of nowhere because I'm your 'competition.' Then you go and kiss me! Now this. Seriously what the hell, Arizona?"

Biting her bottom, Arizona refrained herself from attacking the Latina—and, by attacking, she meant attacking her with her lips. For a second, Arizona wondered what would happen if she actually got to know Callie. She knew it would be infinitely harder to push away her feelings (because, right now, her feelings were purely physical). Deep down, that was another reason why Arizona made no attempt to talk to her the last two days. However, when season rolled around next semester and they were together every day, she knew her life would become a shit storm.

"I don't know!" Arizona said, exasperated. "You just keep popping up in my life somehow, and you've only been here for two days! And it doesn't help that you're gorgeous, and I'm gay, and shit."

Arizona didn't mean to say that, but she figured Callie already knew that by now after the kiss last night. Callie let out a sigh, rubbing her hand over her face in concentration.

"So, you think I'm gorgeous?"

That was all she got out of that conversation. Really?

"And you're annoying!" Arizona said, ignoring the first question. "I would ask you to stay out of my life, but it seems impossible at this point."

Smirking, Callie creeped closer to Arizona. So close, in fact, that Arizona thought that she would turn into a puddle in a matter of seconds. She mentally scolded herself for what she did last night because obviously Callie knew she remembered doing it. It complicated an already complicated thing they had going on—but drunk Arizona had no control, especially when it came to beautiful women at bars.

No, she had no control at all. But she pushed aside those unwanted thoughts about a particular ex to the back of her mind, focusing on the very pressing issue in front of her (literally, Callie was almost pressing completely on her).

"It is impossible," Callie whispered into Arizona's ear huskily. Arizona felt Callie's breath on her neck, her heart picking up speed. For a split second, Arizona swore that Callie was going to kiss her.

But the Latina pulled away before announcing, "We're going to be late."

Then she left the bathroom in a flourish, leaving a dumbstruck Arizona standing there.

* * *

Callie smiled to herself as she pulled on her lacrosse goalie gear, which included a helmet, shin pads, gloves and a chest pad. She looked badass and intimidating, something she prided herself on being. Callie Torres—badass. However, right now, despite the thrill of being back in the cage after three years, she was nervous as hell. She had a lot to prove, especially to the ever-infuriating Arizona Robbins.

When she first decided to join the Tar Heels team, all thanks to Webber, she had ran to her computer to look up stats and bios for all the players on the team. During her research, she discovered one Arizona Robbins, all-star keeper. Callie also noted that this blonde bombshell was going to be a senior. Now, the Latina was confident in her abilities as a goalie, but she also didn't want to be that bitch that came out of nowhere and took away someone's starting spot, even if Callie wanted that more than anything—because, at the end of the day, Callie was a team player. And she was coming on to a strong, tight-knit team.

Webber had told her to just do her best when he signed her onto the team. He also told her that there was an extra spot at one of the lacrosse houses. What he didn't tell Callie was that spot was home to Arizona, the girl she would be competing with for playing time. But Callie pressed on regardless, hoping that there would be no hard feelings between them. She imagined the other woman wouldn't be happy if she lost her spot but would be happy if the team did well. That was all that matter, right?

Wrong. Callie was definitely wrong. From the moment she stepped into her new home, the blonde had been a royal bitch to her. Callie brushed it off at first, though, understanding that she probably would have reacted the same way if Arizona had come in and vied for her spot. But then Arizona kept making snarky comments, and Callie just couldn't take it. So she sassed her back.

And, as much as Callie hated to admit it, she loved this back and forth with the blonde because, well, she found herself insanely attracted to her. It wasn't just her looks. It was…everything. The fact that Arizona cared so much about lacrosse. How close she was with Teddy Altman, their fellow housemate. How she wore a moo-moo to sleep in. How, under the façade she had around Callie, she knew that Arizona was actually rather nice and caring. She could just tell all of these things.

Then, of course, Arizona kissed her _and_ called her gorgeous.

But Callie, who had just discovered her sexual fluidity, wasn't really sure how to go about flirting with the blonde, especially since Arizona harbored some pent-up anger at her. Also, Callie didn't want to date anyone, at least not right now. She had her own past demons to contend with, demons that put her off the dating radar—demons that, essentially, broke her heart into two. Then there was the fact that her parents disowned her. Yeah, Callie wasn't in a good spot to date. So, she would just go with the flow. That's what she would do.

"Let's go, Callie. Warm-up," Arizona deadpanned in a monotone voice. Callie smirked, though, knowing that she had the blonde riled up from this morning's bathroom activities.

Running over towards the field, Callie caught up with Arizona. The two walked side by side in silence, each carrying their huge lacrosse goalie stick, as they approached the goalie circle. While Webber was the head coach, Miranda Bailey, the assistant coach, worked specifically with the goalies.

"Alright ladies," Bailey began, picking up a few tennis balls from a bucket next to her. "You two ready for warm-up?" Both women nodded. "Ok, good. Callie, you're up first."

Her heart thumped fast, nerves kicking in. It didn't help that Arizona would watch the whole reflex drill happen. She entered into the crease, standing a little in front of the goal line. She left her stick next the cage.

"Let's see what you've got, Torres. Don't mess up. Wouldn't want that," Arizona whispered to Callie. The blonde had come up to her, making it look to Bailey like she was giving the newcomer a little pep talk.

Those words from woman made her even more nervous, with butterflies dancing around in her stomach. After a few seconds, Bailey tossed the first tennis ball to her, the ball soaring to Callie's upper left side. She snagged the ball in time to throw it away and stop the other tennis ball that Bailey rocketed towards the bottom right corner.

"Impressive," Bailey complimented, as she threw ball after ball towards the net. After a minute or two, with only a few misses, Callie stepped out of the goal.

She saw Arizona's eyes narrow, the blonde obviously irritated that Callie kicked ass on the drill. What could she say? She had great reflexes, which is why she chose to be a goalie instead of playing a field position.

As Callie sauntered past Arizona, she decided to make the other woman a little nervous, too. She earned it for doing it to her before her turn at the drill. "Why so quiet, Arizona? I'm almost positive you'll let in more than me. Good luck."

Bailey still stood oblivious to the interactions between the two competitors, and Callie wanted to keep it that way. Whatever was going on between her and Arizona had to stay between them. It would look bad on her part as the new girl if she started to ruffle feathers.

"Oh, I don't need luck," Arizona commented as she took her place in the net.

Watching in awe, Callie wanted to take back her early jab at the blonde. She saved throw after throw from Bailey. Catching the tennis balls in her hands or stopping them with the placement of her feet. Craning her neck to look at the net, she noticed Arizona let none in the net.

Fuck. She was really good.

"You two are on your A-game today, ladies," Bailey noted. "We are going to be unstoppable in the cage this season!"

The shorter woman had a point, Callie mused. As much as Callie wanted the starting spot—and, subsequently, wanted to play—the team would be solid with either one of them in the net. Yet, that competitive side of the Latina kicked in, telling her that she deserved something good in her life, that she deserved the spot. After all she went through the last three years, she needed this.

Bailey directed both goalies to pick up their sticks, calling over the attackers from their warm-up. After instructing the attackers to take 8-meter shots, Callie once more made her way into the goalie area. This would be her first time facing shots in three years. Yeah, she could do the reflex drill, but that was without her goalie stick and without girls shooting actual shots with actual lacrosse balls at her. It was a whole new game.

And 8-meter shots were the worst. Each time Bailey blew the whistle, the shooter would have a free shot at Callie, with no defenders there to help protect her. 8-meters was not super close but not super far away either.

The first shot came from Callie's left side, with the subsequent shots coming following from that side until the last shot came from Callie's right. Basically, it was what was called rapid fire. A series of shots coming in at her, one after the other.

"Ready?" Bailey asked. Callie nodded.

One of the attackers, Izzie Stevens, sent a rocket towards Callie's stick-side (the side that she held her stick at). She easily saved it, though. However, the next three shots proved difficult for her, with the attackers throwing in fakes and hitches with their shots, fooling the Latina into guessing the wrong side to put her stick.

All in all, she only saved two of the eight or nine total shots. She felt like shit. She was so confident during the reflex drill, but she should have seen this coming—Callie hadn't played in three years. She was bound to be rusty. But Arizona, well, she wasn't rusty, Callie noted as the blonde saved almost every shot that came at her.

"Yeah, Arizona!" The choir of teammates cheered as Arizona blocked the last shot from Meredith Grey. Callie wanted to be happy for her teammate, but, with this weird dynamic between them, she didn't dare say anything.

The rest of practice flew by with only the few occasional bitchy comments from Arizona. Callie picked up her game towards the end but still struggled slightly.

"Bring it in ladies," Webber called out as the lacrosse players ran in towards him. "Good effort this morning. I'm proud of all the hard work you've been putting in so far. Remember, we only have one practice a week instead of two. During your off days, I expect you to come out here and practice with some girls. Also, you will be expected to work out as well. Don't forget, we have our first fall ball scrimmage in October. That gives us a month to work."

Callie listened raptly, trying to remember the schedule while also fretting about fitting in with the team and finding a teammate with whom to work out and practice with. Webber dismissed them and the girls headed to the locker room to shower.

The one thing Callie didn't expect coming is the openness of the girls on the team. The second they entered the locker room, the majority of her teammates stripped off all of their clothes, throwing them on their laundry loops and into the laundry bin. Most every woman was walking around naked—like completely butt-ass naked. Including a certain blonde who was only a few lockers down from her.

"Like what you see?" Arizona whispered as she walked past the Latina on her way to the shower, not waiting for a response.

And, boy, did Callie like what she saw. Her body was perfection. Absolute perfection.

Callie, not confident with her body like her teammates, waited until everyone was in the showers before stripping down and throwing a towel around her body. Grabbing her shower stuff, she walked into the shower area and located an empty shower stall. The curtains to all the showers were only half closed for most of the girls' shower stalls, letting Callie see who was in each one. It's not like she stared at any of the women because that was weird. But she did notice that the only shower open was the one right next to a currently showering Arizona.

Water ran down the blonde's slightly-tanned, definitely toned body. Callie fixated her gaze ahead of her, trying to not look at the blonde as she stepped into the shower next to her. Quickly, she washed off, wrapping the towel around her as she left the shower. She could tell the blonde was still showering but paid no attention as she walked by her shower. Entering the locker room once more, she started to dry herself off.

"Hey, good work today, Torres," a voice said from behind her. Teddy stood behind her, and, as she turned around, she gave the Latina a smile.

That simple compliment made Callie's day.

"Thanks, Teddy. It wasn't my best, though," Callie mused. "Actually, I sucked."

Teddy laughed. "Don't let Arizona get to you, if that's why you think you sucked. Because Arizona is a freak of nature at lacrosse, but you are just as good. Don't let her rile you up."

Before Teddy turned around to leave, she said something to Callie that made her blush. "Oh, and Arizona is being a jerk because she's totally crushing on you."

Not knowing what to say, Callie simply nodded her head and spun around to face her locker once more. But, as she did so, she noticed Arizona out of the corner of her eye—the blonde sporting a look of hate in her eyes.

That's when Callie realized that Arizona heard what Teddy had told her. And Callie was definitely going to capitalize on this situation.

"Hmm, Robbins. You think I'm gorgeous and are crushing on me. Too bad you're not my type," Callie smirked, even though Arizona was definitely her type. And, in a bold move that rivaled Arizona's bold move to kiss her last night, Callie dropped the towel that was still wrapped around her body.

"Oops," Callie said, loving the way Arizona tried to avert her eyes, a blush forming on her face.

Instead of saying anything, Callie watched as Arizona grabbed her stuff and stormed out of the locker room.

_Looks like the score is tied. Callie – 1, Arizona – 1. And I don't lose, _Callie told herself.

* * *

**Reviews motivate me to write ;) hope you liked this chapter! It's longer than the others by far. **

**Also, S/O to my loyal reviews: **

**[GoldBlooded15]: I think I did well on my exam, thanks! I'm also glad you love the tension and love Teddy!**

**[Calzonafan123]: You'll find out why she was so upset later in the story!**

**[AZgirl]: The project together is coming up next chapter (or that's what I've planned for, at least. Can always change)**

**Lastly, women's lacrosse is a little confusing. If you look up a women's lax field online, the circle with a triangle in it is the goalie area. No one besides the goalie is allowed in the circle. The triangle in the circle is the goal. Also, 8-meter shots are taken from the 8-meter arc, or, in the picture of a field, the smaller arc with hash marks on it. Hope that helps a tad. **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Friday rolled around and, before Callie knew it, the weekend had arrived in all of its gloriousness. However, as much as she wanted to hit up the bar scene, the Latina realized she needed to dedicate her Friday night to homework. While she loved her major, she hated the amount of work that came with it.

And the one piece of homework that she dreaded and looked forward to at the same time was that damn project she had to do with a certain blonde. After the little locker room incident, the two had taken to avoiding each other at all costs. Since they had no more offseason practices this week, Callie did her very best to not be around Arizona in the house, showering either in the late hours of the night or wee hours in the morning. As much as she wanted to "win" this little game her and Arizona were playing, she also intended to keep her sanity.

Her phone buzzed before she could pull herself out of her thoughts.

**From: Addison**

**I miss you, my main bitch. Come back into my life. **

Callie smiled, knowing that Addison truly did miss her because she missed the redhead as well. Moving from Miami to Chapel Hill stretched their relationship thin—they already barely saw each other when they both lived in the sunny city.

Posing her fingers to type a response, another text from Addison came.

**From: Addison**

**How are the ladies and gentlemen there? Hot? Drool worthy? **

After texting back and forth with her friend for a few minutes, the two picked a time on Sunday to FaceTime each other. Something Callie definitely needed, especially with all that had already happened at UNC with a specific blonde.

Sighing, Callie thought about her lack of social life here at school. Back home, she had a few friends she hung out with regularly, not including her friendship with Addison. At this point, Callie had already figured she'd have made quite some friends here but no luck. She guessed Teddy maybe counted, but the other blonde was best friends with Arizona, which meant that was a big no-no.

A sound of someone tripping and falling snapped Callie out of her thoughts of self-pity, and, without thinking, she ran into the hallway to see occurred. When she entered into the hallway, she saw Arizona lying on the ground, clutching her wrist. A primal instinct came over Callie, who jogged over to the writhing blonde.

"Uh, Arizona, are you ok?" Callie asked tentatively—tentatively because she could never gage if Arizona would snap at her or act civil. But this time, she was quite sure Arizona needed her help and would probably act her age.

"Yes, I'm—I'm…" Arizona said, blinking back tears. "Fuck. No, I slipped on someone's fucking water trail and landed on my wrist."

With those words, Callie's heart sank, knowing that Arizona saw Callie's wet hair and put two and two together. She had taken a shower only about a half an hour ago after her workout, not realizing she left water on the wooden floor.

"Shit," Callie said as Arizona clutched her wrist with her other hand. "Can I, well, can I take a look at it?"

A myriad of emotions ran across Arizona's face, with Callie not knowing which one would take precedence. At first, she believed the blonde would allow her to take a look, but, not seconds later, she saw sadness and anger flit over her face.

Callie herself felt awful because there was no doubt that the other woman would blame her if something actually was wrong with her wrist, especially since she needed her wrist to play. Arizona would, in part, think she tried to sabotage her, even though Arizona probably down in the pit of her heart knew that the Latina didn't mean to do it.

"Yes, fine," Arizona hissed after a while, carefully allowing Callie to take her arm in her hand. Feeling Arizona's warm skin on hers made Callie's heart leap and her mind race with thoughts of how right it felt.

But, throwing those thoughts aside, Callie examined the blonde's already swollen wrist. At best, she sprained her wrist, but, with the bruises starting to form, Callie wasn't sure what it could be.

"It doesn't look too good," she reported, earning a look of 'no shit' from Arizona.

"Thanks, Sherlock." Arizona took her wrist back, cradling it once more against her body. "Why the fuck is the world shitting on me?"

Tempted, Callie wanted to wrap the other woman in a huge embrace. If anyone knew about shitty times, it was Callie. Her life the last three years were one big pile of shit. She didn't even want to think about the worst thing that had happened to her—and no, it wasn't her parents disowning her or her awful love life.

Tears threatened to spill over Callie's eyelids, but she kept them at bay, not wanting to give the blonde any more ammunition against her. _Just don't think about it, ok? Push it aside, _Callie scolded herself.

"Everyone goes through rough patches, Arizona," Callie paused, thinking about what to say back to Arizona. "You'll be ok. I can tell you're a pretty strong person."

That was actually really civil, Callie applauded herself. During this time, Teddy had arrived back at the house, unbeknownst to the two in the hallway. She stood at the bottom of the stairs, listening raptly to the conversation happening upstairs.

"Yeah, and how would you know that, _Calliope?_" Arizona said, emphasizing Callie's full name, much to the Latina's bafflement. "How would you know anything about me?"

Calming herself, Callie pushed back a few stray strands of black hair. She scooted closer on the ground towards the other woman, only a foot or so separating them. They were side-by-side, and, going for it, Callie wrapped her left arm around Arizona's shoulder, automatically feeling the blonde's warmth—and loving it.

Without saying anything, Callie gave Arizona's shoulder a squeeze as the blonde's head came to rest in the spot between her head and shoulder. The two stayed in the position (neither wanted to break whatever trance they were in at the moment) for what seemed like hours. It was addicting being this close to Arizona, to having her head resting on the Latina's body.

Callie felt the rise and fall of Arizona's chest as she breathed, the way she evened out her breathing as time passed. It was nice—whatever it was they were doing. It didn't erase the last week but, in a way, it did for a second or two.

That trance broke, though, when Arizona tried to move her arm slightly, forgetting about her wrist. Callie watched as pain shot through Arizona's wrist and arm. She could feel Arizona tense up next to her, and she wasn't sure if it was from the pain, from being close to Callie or both.

Probably both, Callie mused.

"I'm sorry I left water on the floor. I didn't do it to sabotage you," Callie promised, saying something to fill the awkward silence that had taken over.

Arizona rolled her eyes, and Callie couldn't tell the reasoning behind the eye rolling. The blonde really did confuse the hell out of her. It was like that damn Katy Perry song, 'Hot N Cold.' Because Arizona was really hot and cold, yes and no, in and out.

"Yeah, ok. Well, it happened. There's no changing it," Arizona said in a distant voice. The space between them had grown, both literally and physically. "Just…can you leave me alone? I've had enough Callie today."

And that's when Callie felt the anger well up inside of her. The things the blonde had the audacity to say sometimes—it made her so fucking mad. But turned on. But really mad. God, these feelings really confused her.

"Whatever, Arizona," Callie spat back. "And _never_ call me Calliope again."

Only one person, besides her dad, called her that.

"What happened here," Arizona said, her one good hand moving to sweep the air, "never will happen again. You're still the competition. You're still the, well, the everything."

"Fine. I don't even care anymore," Callie retorted.

Before either of them said another word, Teddy bounded up the stairs, halting the conversation. Callie had sensed that the stuck-in-the-middle friend heard more than she appeared to let on. And she swore that Teddy decided to come upstairs at that exact moment to stop whatever bitch fest would have occurred otherwise.

"Hey guys," Teddy said, glancing at both of them with a nervous smile on her face. Callie took this as her cue to leave.

But, as she walked downstairs, she could still hear the conversation between the two yellow-haired women.

"Oh, Arizona, what happened?" She heard Teddy ask, before Arizona promptly replied:

"Callie happened."

* * *

Even the slightest movement hurt her wrist. Arizona had gone to the athletic trainer's room on campus to see if they could tell her what was wrong. If they didn't know, she supposed she'd go to the emergency room, but she didn't want to go if she didn't have to go.

The head trainer told her she was lucky—that it only looked like a sprain. But she'd have to wear a soft cast for a few weeks, and there was no way she'd be allowed to play any lacrosse. Fuming, she wanted to punch a wall before realizing hurting her other hand would do her absolutely no good.

Damn Callie Torres.

Her mind rewound to their earlier interaction. The Latina had been her nice, caring self while Arizona pushed her away some more. She guessed they did share a nice moment for a little there, though. Then Arizona ruined it.

She also remembered the venom laced in the Latina's voice when she called the woman by her full first name. It scared her a little.

"Earth to Arizona?" Teddy said, waving her hands in front of Arizona's face, trying to catch her best friend's attention. Arizona still didn't notice. "Well, in that case, I'm actually five months pregnant. I have a dick, too, in case you didn't realize it. Oh, and, the real kicker, is I have a boyfriend!"

That snapped Arizona from her zoning.

"What did you say?" Arizona asked.

"Don't worry about it," Teddy smirked. "What you do need to worry about is your project with one Calliope Torres. Which, by the way, how did you find out her full name?"

Groaning, Arizona sat up straighter, not wanting to talk about Callie Torres anymore. She just wanted to go back to the times when the beautiful Latina didn't invade her every thought and action. It sucked that she felt this attraction for her because she didn't want to feel it.

"I have my ways, Teds. And this project is going to suck. Let's not even talk about it. Can we just talk about other things like...your love life? Or about things that are not related to Callie," Arizona pleaded, not realizing that the woman of her thoughts had walked down the stairs at the exact moment Arizona said Callie's name.

Teddy started to laugh immediately, leaving Arizona to wonder why. But, when she noticed the other woman staring at something in the distance, Arizona got the hint. "She's right behind me, isn't she?"

Teddy nodded and Arizona cursed under her breath.

"You sure seem to have a habit of talking about me, Arizona Robbins. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you liked me," Callie teased. At that moment, all the blonde wanted to do was strangle Teddy for telling her enemy that piece of information because she _didn't_ have a crush on the Latina. No, she didn't. Not at all.

Callie sauntered into the room, wearing nothing more than a very revealing tank top and short shorts. Arizona started unwillingly salivating, prompting Teddy to snicker at her best friend. The other woman took a seat right next to Arizona, plopping down in a dramatic fashion. Her thighs pressed up against the blonde's but neither pulled away or even acknowledged it.

"I do _not_ like you," Arizona huffed. "Especially after you freaking injured me!"

She knew she was being irrational—that Callie didn't purposefully leave the ground wet in hopes that Arizona would slip and fall and hurt her wrist, which is the one part of her body she needed to play goalie. But it sure felt like that. Like, the chances of that happening…

"You like me," Callie stated. At this point, Teddy had already made her sneaky exit, leaving Arizona and Callie alone. When this conversation was over, she planned on giving her best friend a piece of her mind. "Just admit it. Then maybe we can upstairs, I'll dim the lights. You know, the works."

Without warning, Callie's perfectly manicured hand settled on Arizona's upper thigh. All at once, Arizona felt a heat rush over her, with her body on fire and heart beating wildly. Slowly, the other woman inched her hand up and up before the blonde couldn't take it anymore. Part of her wanted to kiss the hell out of the Latina, but the rational part told her to remove the hand. So she did.

Callie smirked at Arizona, knowing she had an effect on her. "So, how about that project?"

* * *

Papers were scattered everywhere, two laptops sitting on top of the clutter. Callie watched as Arizona's face contorted in concentration. As she did, she recalled their earlier interaction. Admittedly, she enjoyed watching the blonde squirm a little and enjoyed more the feeling of her hand on the blonde's thigh.

She also liked that she was winning this little battle they had going on—even if Arizona had no clue that Callie was keeping score.

"Ok, so now all we have to do is make a PowerPoint," Arizona said as she looked up from her laptop. "You know what? I'll just make it."

Callie knew the blonde thought she had more brains than the Latina, which actually made her pretty mad. This whole project, Arizona had tried to take the reins, not letting Callie do too much. But, at the mention of a PowerPoint, Callie's face paled and she started to break out in a cold sweat.

"A PowerPoint?" Callie asked. "We have to present?"

If there was one thing that Callie absolutely hated, it was public speaking. The first time she spoke in front of people, she ended up puking on stage—and that was in third grade. Since then, she got anxiety. Really bad anxiety.

"Yes, Callie, we have to present. Did you even read the syllabus?" Arizona asked, a condescending tone taking over. "I mean, it's really not a big deal."

Callie swallowed hard. "Yeah, you're right. No big deal."

Tapping her foot, Callie's nerves took over her body—these nerves were not even bad compared to what they would be like come Monday's class.

"Ok…" Arizona dragged out. "Well, looks like we're done. So bye."

Arizona tried to high tail it out of the room, but Callie stopped her, grabbing her arm. She actually had no idea why she stopped the blonde. Something took a hold of the Latina.

"What, Callie? Are you going to tease me more because you know I think you're attractive? Because, you know what, I don't even care since your personality is annoying. And I'm awesome and don't need this."

Callie laughed before brazenly asking, "I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date?"

That shocked both herself and Arizona. She didn't know why she asked, other than it kind of felt right. She couldn't explain it. This back and forth game between the two needed to come to an end. They needed to get along, too.

But the look on Arizona's face made Callie nervous. "Hmm, so you like me, too? Huh? Interesting. But I think I'm going to take a pass. I'm super flattered, though."

With that, Callie watched as Arizona meandered out of the room and went upstairs, leaving a dumbfounded Callie in her wake. Callie wanted to reverse time—back to when she didn't do and say stupid things for no reason. Because Callie didn't not like the blonde. It was one thing for her to be in her major and for them to live in the same house, but it was another that they were on the same team. So, no, she didn't like Arizona.

She didn't, right?

* * *

**I don't know how I feel about this chapter. Thanks for the reviews. I've been a little busy and dealing with some issues, but I wanted to get an update in before the weekend.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

From the day that Callie Torres came into everyone's life at North Carolina, Teddy Altman knew that she spelled trouble. But not the bad trouble that most thought. The good trouble. And that trouble found her best friend—Arizona Robbins.

It hurt her friend that Webber brought in another goalkeeper her senior year, a goalkeeper that could possibly steal her friend's spot. A spot that her friend earned over the last three years. She had never seen anyone work as hard as Arizona did all year long. So, she naturally felt bad for the blonde. However, Arizona proceeded to act like a bitch to the Latina, something that Teddy never would have guessed. In all the time she knew the blonde, she had never seen her act that way. It shocked her.

She understood that Arizona disliked Callie on the principle that she could take her spot, but there had been other goalies in the last three years that she had to compete against for a spot. Which led to confusion for Teddy. That was, until she realized that Arizona liked Callie.

That's when it all clicked.

In her past years in Chapel Hill, her friend had suffered heart break after heart break, with the ultimate heart break happening less than half a year ago. Arizona gave her heart to everyone in her life, her whole, beating heart. But her girlfriend at the time took her heart out of her chest, stomped on it and ripped it to pieces.

That was why Teddy understood why her friend was acting the way she was. It was obvious to anyone that Callie and Arizona were inevitably attracted to each—their whole charade of hatred, admittedly, was getting old—but (it seemed to Teddy) that both were trying to protect their hearts, which meant being bitches to each other.

It made no logical sense. But Teddy saw the fleeting glances and timid smiles underneath their façades around each other. She overheard their conversations. When the two actually acted their age around the other, it was so apparent that they fit together in only a way that Callie and Arizona could.

But the two were stubborn, and Teddy wanted to their team to do well her senior year, which that all started with two of the superstar players getting along with another.

More importantly, however, she wanted to see her two friends to get together.

* * *

"You asked her out on a date? Ballsy move there, Cal," Addison said, pride evident in her voice. The redhead looked stunning even on FaceTime, wearing a sweatshirt and sporting a messy bun. "What are you going to do now? I mean, not gonna lie, it's going to be awkward as hell now."

Addison laughed, causing Callie to glare at her friend. Angling the phone towards her face, Callie shrugged her shoulders, unsure of what to say back—because she had no idea what she was going to do around Arizona now. It made no sense to her, why she asked her out. Something came over her. Maybe she finally saw what could be with the blonde. Suppressing her feelings was harder than it looked.

"Well, it looks like you officially speak the vagina monologues, at least," Addison offered, giving her friend a smirk. "Never would have pegged you to speak that language, Callie. But hey, I support it. You and Arizona would be hot together."

Once those words came out of Addison's mouth, Callie took her free hand and covered up her face in embarrassment. Addison tended to be blunt, to say the least, at all times. Callie embraced it, but it always irked her a little.

"Addison," Callie groaned, "she denied me. Obviously, she only thinks I'm attractive, which, I mean, I am. But still. She made it quite clear she didn't like my personality. Not much more I can do."

With a roll of her eyes, Addison scooted closer to her camera on her phone until all Callie could see was Addison's face. "Listen, I've known you for years, and you have never stopped chasing what you want. Ever. If you like this girl, keep at it." She paused. "Why do you like her? Like besides her looks and all that."

Truthfully, that was still that part Callie was trying to figure out. She had no idea.

"I—I guess I feel this connection with her. This connection I haven't felt with anyone else. I don't know why I think we have this connection either because she makes me so annoyed. You have no idea Addison. But she also makes me act in ways that I never have before—like boldly. And I just know that if she let me, I would love what was underneath her act. There is something about her, something I can't put my finger on. She's a mystery that I want to uncover."

Unbeknownst to herself, during her whole speech, a smile and a dreamy-like state shadowed over Callie's face. Thinking about a future with this infuriating blonde actually made her a little hopeful, a little happy. In a weird way.

"Well, shit. You kinda made me want you right there," Addison joked. "But, in all seriousness, it seems like you two repel each other because you are both scared. It probably doesn't help that you're up for the same starting spot." Addison's eyes grew wide. "Wait, let's say you two get it on—gross but whatever—are you even allowed to date? I mean, you're on the same team, in more ways than one."

At that, both women laughed. Callie shifted in her bed slightly, turning on the lamp on her side table. It had grown dark over the last half an hour, and Callie noted it was probably time for her to do some homework and then go to bed.

"I have no idea. I guess, if it actually ever happened, we would have to talk with my coach. But that's not even what I'm concerned about. If Arizona wants to date me, what would we do come season? Only one of us can play at a time. That would probably not be healthy for a relationship. One that is most likely going to be strained regardless."

"That's for you to figure out. If you want it enough, you'll fight for it."

Callie wanted to say something, but Addison beat her to it.

"But, first, my friend, you need to get her to go on a date with you," she said. "Oh, and you need to stop acting like a turd."

"A turd? Really?"

Addison nodded. "Yes, a turd, Callie. Now, go do something about it."

* * *

Arizona opened up her closet door, taking in the vast amount of clothes she hoarded over the years. Now, she had no idea if Professor Burke expected business attire for their presentation, but she would not take any chances, especially with him. So, she planned on looking sharp and business casual.

Also, she secretly wanted Callie to drool over her.

After Callie asked her out, which actually threw her a curveball, she tried to picture a future with the Latina. On one hand, she thought that they had chemistry, undeniable chemistry. On the other hand, though, she wasn't sure it would be the best idea. There was the fact that they were going after the same starting spot. But there was also the fact that she didn't want her heart broken again. There was only so much Arizona could take.

Pushing away those thoughts, Arizona focused on picking out something to wear. As she scanned her closet, someone knocked on her door. The only person in the house that would knock would be Callie.

Great.

"Come in," Arizona said. The door creeped open to reveal, surprisingly, Teddy. "Hey, what's up, Teds?"

Teddy pointed with her thumb behind her. "I think you need to go check on your teammate. She's puking." The look on her best friend's face gave indication that she had no intentions of dealing with it. Or, that she wanted Arizona to deal with it instead.

Selecting a white button up and black blazer, Arizona quickly walked over to her bed, set down the two items and proceeded to follow Teddy out of her room. The second the two entered the cramped hallway, Arizona could hear (and, unfortunately, smell) Callie puking in the bathroom. Teddy raised her eyebrow at the blonde, wondering if Arizona was going to help out the other woman. Tilting her head, Arizona sighed and headed to the bathroom.

She paused outside the door—was it appropriate to knock on the door in this situation or just barge into the bathroom? Teddy scoffed loud enough for Arizona to hear, giving her the go-ahead to enter. As she pushed open the door gently, Arizona peeked around it, noticing Callie slumped on the ground with her head resting on the toilet seat.

"Callie?" Arizona asked gently, stepping into the bathroom fully and closing the wooden door behind her. Callie lifted her head up for a second. Even sick, Arizona swore the Latina was the most beautiful woman she had ever saw in her life. But, really. She had on her pajamas, her hair a messy ball of brown curls plastered with sweat onto her forehead.

"Mhmm," Callie mumbled, no distinguishable words coming out of her mouth. Checking her watch, Arizona noticed that the two had class in less than thirty minutes—they had to _present_ their project in thirty minutes.

That's when it all clicked for Arizona. Vaguely, she remembered the Latina slightly freaking out about having to present for Burke's class. She really didn't think anything of it at the time. A lot of people hated public speaking, but it appeared that Callie really hated it.

"Are you ok?" Arizona questioned even though it truly was a dumb question. The other woman clearly was not ok. So she restructured her question, "What can I do to help?"

Again, Callie tried to sit up completely, but it was apparent that exhaustion, fatigue and probably a twinge of embarrassment prevented her from leaving her spot on the toilet seat. For a hot second, Arizona thought of how gross that seat was, feeling marginally worse for the Latina who had taken residence on it. Slowly, she stepped closer to Callie—Arizona hadn't moved away from the door during the time she had been in the small room.

"Nothing," Callie quietly said. "I'm—I am fine. I'm ok."

Taking sure steps over to Callie, Arizona sat down on the cold tile floor. Hesitantly, Arizona reached out and placed a hand on Callie's back, trying to soothe her. She rubbed her good hand up and down her back slowly. It seemed to have an effect on the Latina, and, for a few minutes, it looked as if Callie was almost back to normal. Then, Arizona had to say something that brought it all back up—literally.

"We have to leave soon or we'll be late for class," Arizona whispered because whispering seemed appropriate. "I can drive us."

Callie turned her head to look at Arizona, her eyes wide and her face pale, before the brunette's body contorted in a way that let Arizona know she was about to vomit again. Quickly, Callie threw her head over the toilet bowl, throwing up nothing but clear liquid at this point. Sensing another puking attack, Arizona gathered Callie's hair into her hand and pulled it away from her face. Once she puked a few more times, Callie sat up straighter.

"You don't have to be here with me, Arizona. I know you don't want anything to do with me," Callie said miserably. The brunette had scooted away from Arizona, making her feel like shit. She regretted the way she acted in the past because she now understood the impact of her actions on a woman who really only wanted to fit in.

So, Arizona titled her head, giving Callie a sad look. "I do want everything to do with you. And that's killing me."

Callie perked up a little, her eyes dancing to a newfound beat. Arizona watched with intensity as the Latina had an internal battle with herself. Nerves hit Arizona hard, though, because she just admitted something she really did not want to admit. It already sucked that she couldn't help feel this way towards Callie, but it also sucked because she didn't want to feel this way. She wanted her to be another teammate, another roommate, another classmate. Arizona hated baring her heart, hated feeling like she felt.

Before either could say another word, Arizona's phone started to ring. She looked and saw that Lexie Grey, one of her teammates who was also in most of her bio classes, was calling her. Confused, she slid open her phone, answering the call simultaneously. Callie still was on the ground by the toilet, giving her a questioning and, frankly, disappointing look. Arizona felt upset, too, because things maybe, finally, were going well for the two woman.

"Hey Little Grey, what's up?" Arizona asked.

"Uh, why are not in class? Burke is about to start!" Lexie all but screamed, setting off panic within Arizona's chest. Her heart dropped as she realized the time—they literally had been in the bathroom longer than Arizona had thought. Scrambling, she tugged Callie up from the floor.

"We're coming! Stall!" With that, she hung up her phone. "Callie, we're going to be late and Burke _will_ give us zeroes. And I cannot afford a zero at the beginning of the semester. So, I get that you're nervous, but I need you to go put on some clothes and grab your flash drive. Hurry!"

Both women ran around the house, with Arizona quite literally feeling like a chicken with her head cut off at the moment. Finally, the two, not saying much to each other—and with Callie looking marginally better—hopped into the blonde's car, speeding towards campus. Once in the parking lot, Arizona found a spot close to the building, luckily, and they ran in.

"Arizona, I can't do this. I'm going to vomit again," Callie moaned. Arizona wanted to give her a hard glare but, instead, decided on a more sympathetic route. After all, she was trying to be a better person around the Latina.

"Yes, you can. While up there, imagine you're in the cage during a lacrosse game. It's down to the wire, and the other team has the ball on offense. You're focused during that time, you're in the zone. Be like that."

Arizona finished her little soliloquy with a smile. She had faith in her partner. Well, she had to have faith, at least, or they would probably receive a poor grade, something that Arizona never received. "I'll do most of the talking," she added before pushing open the door of the classroom.

The sight in front of Arizona made her chuckle—Lexie was up at the front of the room trying to get Professor Burke to listen to her. At the sound of the door opening, however, Lexie turned around and saw that it was the two latecomers, promptly ending her conversation with the professor and sitting back down in her seat.

"Thanks, Lex," Arizona whispered as she headed towards her seat. "I owe you one."

Lexie nodded.

"Nice of you two to join us," Burke enunciated. "Now that Ms. Grey is done talking my ear off, we will proceed with the presentations."

Arizona looked over at Callie, who was fidgeting, her knees bouncing up and down, and gave her a small smile. She wished she could do more to help, but she didn't truly have the right to be that person to help Callie.

Her mind drifted to her admission in the bathroom earlier. Thinking about it made her cheeks flush and heart pound. Why did they have this complicated dance between them? Really, she got whiplash from their relationship.

What she did know, however, was that tonight she needed a drink. Yes, today was the one day Arizona could freely admit she needed a little alcohol in her system. Today warranted it—and the day had just begun.

* * *

"You're the new lacrosse goalie, right?" A deep voice asked from behind Callie. Spinning around, the Latina saw an attractive male, his hair a nice shade of brown and his face a sculpted statue. He had the jaw line that women dreamed about at night.

Callie, a little dumbstruck, snapped out of her daze. "Yeah, I am. And you're Mark." She had heard about Mark Sloan. He actually was in their micro class, but she didn't sit close to him at all. What she did hear was about how much of a player he was.

"That's correct," he smirked. "Just wanted to introduce myself." He extended his hand, and Callie gripped it, shaking it at the same time.

"Oh, I play on the men's team, too. Attack," Mark winked. "I like to attack a lot of things."

Resisting the urge to laugh, Callie resorted to shaking her head and rolling her eyes. This dude was something else, she thought. And he definitely lived up to her expectations of him based on what she had heard through the grapevine from Lexie Grey and Izzie Stevens during practices and in the locker room. If memory served her correct, she swore the mousy brunette had a crush on him.

"Well isn't that something?" Callie retorted. "But I really got to go."

The two had walked outside of the class building during their conversation, and now were in that awkward place of saying goodbye. It looked as if Mark would be walking the opposite way, anyways. Before she turned on her heel to walk back home (Arizona didn't wait up for her), Mark grabbed her arm.

"Come out to Joe's with me and some guys from the team tonight," he said, not really asking. "It will be a fun time, and you can get to know us better."

Callie planned on saying no, but what came out of her mouth was yes.

"I mean, ok. Yes," she fumbled over her words. Callie actually felt nervous saying yes, but, the reason she did is because she needed more friends than the mere acquaintances she had from her own team. "What time?"

Mark let go of her arm, giving her a shit-eating grin as he walked the other way. "11." He stopped. "Oh, and look a little sexy."

The bar was packed with bodies—oddly enough for a Monday night. Callie had to weave in and out of the crowd to find her way to the bar. She spotted Mark the moment she stepped into the establishment, his voice and laugh booming over the noise. Callie wondered why she actually came because she realized on her way over—alone—that she had no idea who this guy was.

But something in her gut told her to come, so she listened to her gut and came anyway.

"Torres!" Mark shouted. For some reason, she liked the way Mark called her Torres instead of Callie. It made her feel a part of 'the guys.'

"Glad you made it," he said into her ear. "Looking good, too!"

He motioned for the bartender to bring him two more of whatever beer he had been nursing. Callie looked around as he did so, noticing a few faces she knew from the past week of classes and practice. All of a sudden, Callie felt pretty awkward. She couldn't explain it, but she did.

Before she could excuse herself, the bartender arrived with two cold beers in his hand, sliding them on the smooth bar top towards Mark's waiting hand. He snatched them and offered one to Callie.

"You meet the boys yet?" Callie asked, as Mark pointed towards one of the booths. It was obvious that the booth belonged to a bunch of lax boys. They all had the hair flow going, with the exception of Mark. Some of them sported backwards Vineyard Vines hats, and almost all of them had on colored shorts and boat shoes. If it wasn't for the long or flowy hair, Callie would have bet they were in a fraternity.

Shaking her head no, Callie responded, "Can't say I have."

Mark smiled, standing up and putting his hand on the small of Callie's back. "I'll lead the way." And he did, expertly navigating the crowds as if he was a skilled seaman. Callie thought nothing about Mark's hand on her back, but he obviously thought something of it because, when the two ended up at the booth, all the boys gave Mark this 'good job' look.

"Guys, this is Callie Torres. She's on the women's team. Welcome her into our fold, my friends," he said with conviction. "And, for God's sake, give that girl your shot, Derek!"

Derek, one of the guys with the best hair flow, shrugged his shoulders and handed over a shot of something to Callie. She took the proffered drink and took it like a champ, the burn of alcohol running down her throat and into her stomach. All the boys applauded wildly after she took the shot, a grin appearing widely on her face.

"So, got a boy, Callie?" Derek asked before quickly adding, "Not that I want you or anything. I've got a girl. But—just wondering."

The table erupted with laughter, a few of the guys ribbing with Derek after that disaster. Looking around the table, Callie smiled because they all seemed interested in her. But they were also probably all intoxicated and a majority of them mostly likely wanted to get into her pants.

"No, no boy," Callie winked, noticing Mark's eyebrows raise slightly. _But there is this one girl. This attractive, annoying, kind, infuriating girl_, Callie thought.

"On that note, you wanna hit the dancefloor, Torres?" Mark asked, offering his hand. Callie saw no reason why not to take up his offer because she loved to dance. She knew Mark wanted her, so why not be a little bit of a tease. It would amuse her, at least.

The two found a spot on the floor as a music pounded through the DJ's speakers. Mark tried to turn Callie around and have her grind on him, but she just wasn't feeling that. So, instead, the two faced each other, dancing actually rather sensually. But that's how Callie always danced.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a flash of familiar blonde hair at the same time that Mark went in for the kill, his lips attacking hers. _Well, he did say he likes to attack,_ Callie laughed to herself before pulling away quickly.

"Sorry, Mark, but I'm not really into your type," she whispered. "There's this one girl…"

Mark's face turned from sad to confused to shit-eating. "A girl? You're into girls?" She nodded. "Well, normally, I would be offended that any girl would back out of the Sloan method, but I can make an exception. Promise me a threesome, though."

Hitting him upside the head, Mark huffed a little before his eyes locked on Lexie Grey's. Callie noticed the sad smile that came over his face. "Mark, it's so obvious that you like Lexie. Stop playing around with other girls and go after her. If you like her, it's worth the fight."

Mark gave a sigh before nodding his head. "Same to you," he said. "It's obvious you really like some girl. And I know who that girl is."

Taken aback, Callie scrunched her face up in confusion. How could anyone besides Teddy know that she liked Arizona? It was bad enough that they played the same position and lived together, but now everyone else knew? Or at least Mark. How?

"What? How?"

Mark nodded his head in the direction that Callie saw that familiar flash of blonde hair from. Following his nod, Callie saw Arizona standing there, a drink in her hand and a scowl on her face. And she was looking right over in their direction.

"Somehow, I don't think Arizona Robbins is scowling at me," he shrugged before giving her a pat on the back and walking over towards Lexie. "Good luck."

Callie felt the burn of Arizona's jealous glare—it was like the blonde had lasers for eyes and were aiming them right at the Latina. Swallowing a sip of beer, Callie took a deep breath before she headed over towards Arizona. She had no idea the blonde would even be here. Besides the one nights she saw her here, Callie didn't beg Arizona for a partier.

Once she made it to the blonde, Arizona grabbed her hand. The action caused a jolt of something run through her body as Arizona dragged Callie outside. Before Callie could get out any words, Arizona brought the two of them closer.

"Don't ever dance with Mark Sloan again," Arizona said with a bite.

Callie rolled her eyes, something she found herself doing a lot lately around the blonde. "I can do whatever I want, Arizona. You denied me. So, yeah, you have no say," Callie said, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, but I just told you today…" Arizona trailed off. "Why are we like this? This whole back and forth thing."

Laughing, Callie said, "You started this whole thing, Arizona. I like you. And I don't want to like you at all because I don't know anything about you other than how much of a jerk you've been. But sometimes, you aren't a jerk. You're actually nice and caring. I don't know where I'm going with this to be honest."

Callie was about to keep rambling, but something, or someone, cut her off. Arizona's soft lips found hers, gently kissing her. It was a slow, sensual kiss, and Callie found herself inexplicably drawn to the blonde. She placed her hands on Arizona's hip, pulling her closer as the kiss deepened slightly. At the same time, Arizona's arms wrapped around her neck, Callie loving the feeling over Arizona pressed up against her with the blonde's hands tangled in her hair.

Arizona's tongue darted out and into Callie's mouth, both moaning at the feeling as they continued their kiss. They kissed until they needed air, both pulling away but resting their foreheads against each other's.

"Where do we go from here?" Callie whispered.

"I don't know. I really don't."

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews! This is the longest chapter I've written for this by far. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

A feeling over dread filled Callie's stomach. Bailey had told her to go on the line—key phrase for "you're going to do a lot of sprints and you will hate your life." However, the anxiety and dread subsided a tad when Bailey called Arizona over from the bench. Seeing the blonde wearing her soft cast made Callie feel awful, but seeing her in general made her stomach erupt with butterflies.

It had been two weeks since the incident outside of Joe's and not much had transpired between the two of them. Callie knew that Arizona was pulling away, that it was easier for her to not let her feelings take over. But it hurt Callie in a way that she couldn't describe. She thought that they would progress somewhat in their relationship, whether that entailed becoming friends or going on a date. Yet, nothing happened.

"Alright, Arizona. I want you to run with Callie here. A soft cast should not keep you from getting some sprints in, right?" Bailey asked, although Callie understood at this point that what Bailey said went.

Arizona nodded and took her spot next to Callie. Just the smell and closeness of the other woman next to her made the Latina's mind going into overdrive. Before she knew it, though, Bailey blew the whistle and broke Callie's reverie. Arizona bolted ahead of Callie, which, in turn, forced her to run faster to try to catch her. If she wanted that starting spot, which she did, she needed to match or beat the blonde in all areas.

As she ran, with her legs aching and heart pounding, she couldn't help but notice Arizona's toned legs as they moved gracefully. Then her eyes travelled upwards just a tad and point-blank stared at the blonde's ass. Because, well, it was a great ass.

Passing the 70 yard mark, Callie had made up a few more yards but still knew she would finish behind Arizona as they crossed the end zone line. Full field sprints were brutal, but it didn't seem to faze the blonde. Wheezing and trying to catch her breath, she spared a glance at the woman next to her and noticed she didn't even break a sweat. Literally.

"How are you," gulp of air, "not even," another, "tired?" Callie panted, trying to suck in as much as air as she possibly could as she slow jogged all the way back down the field. They had only 40 seconds to make it to the other end before Bailey forced them to run another.

Arizona shrugged her shoulders, giving Callie a wink and eyebrow raise as she continued her jog slightly ahead of Callie. And so it went, for the next 9 sprints, with the Latina trying without success to beat Arizona while the blonde didn't seem fazed by the workout at all.

The rest of the team still practiced while Callie and Arizona did their sprints, with Callie hearing Webber shout instructions every so often as they sprinted past. The second her feet crossed the line after the last sprint, Callie collapsed on the field, her arms and legs spread wide as she gasped for even more air. Arizona hovered over her, and a part of Callie found it really endearing—however, another part found it annoying because how the actual fuck was Arizona that in-shape? As if she didn't already have to contend for the blonde on the field (and in her heart), this just made it twenty times worse.

"Good work you two," Bailey said, rarely the one to compliment. "No need to put on your gear. The team's about finished up. Why don't you two head out?"

The two exchanged confused looks because their coach seemed in an awfully good mood, which absolutely never happened. But they weren't going to question it, striding away with water bottles in tow back to the locker room. Seeing as the rest of the field players still were out with Webber, it only was Callie and her crush in the confined area.

No words were spoken between them as they took off their sweaty clothes and threw them into the laundry bin. Callie looked over her shoulder and watched as Arizona let her hair out of her ponytail, her blonde tresses falling out and spilling over her shoulder and back. Subconsciously, Callie licked her lips, approval with every flick of her tongue. The muscles in the blonde's shoulders and arms were impressive as well, with Arizona unknowingly flexing her muscles every so often as she fiddled around her locker.

"So…" Callie dragged, wanting to talk to the blonde. "You're really fit."

A chuckle escaped the lips that Callie already loved so much (she hated admitting that), sending a spark of fire straight to her core. Seeing Arizona in her element unleashed something primal within Callie, something she couldn't explain. Every day, she found something she liked _and _detested in the blonde. Today, it was her ability to kick ass in sprints. Which was also what she hated. Confliction. It sucked.

"Honestly, you really should become Sherlock Holmes. You're deducing skills are on point these last few weeks," Arizona volleyed back, her eyes scrunched up, a smile on her slightly tanned face. "But, yes, Callie. I am in-shape. In all ways."

Leaving it at that, because of course Arizona would, Callie watched as the blonde sashayed her way into the shower area, closing the door behind her. Closing her eyes, she tried to not picture what the blonde meant by _in all ways_, but the sound of water from a shower and a very naked Arizona in that shower did not help. At all.

As she followed in the blonde's trail, Callie tried to calm herself down—something very hard to do these days. Frequently, her dreams consisted of a very annoying but hot blonde woman. The best dreams were when Arizona wore nothing under her goalie equipment…

_Stop it, Callie_.

"Did you just talk to yourself?" Arizona shouted over the hum of her shower. She peeped her out of the curtain, Callie taking in the way water ran down her face. She really did try to avert her eyes but it was next to impossible.

"What? No, I would never," Callie rebuffed, trying to play it off while still attempting to look anywhere else. "That's, I mean, come on."

Arizona gave her a strange look as if she knew just how crazy Callie was. "What are you trying to stop, Callie? Please elaborate."

"You would want to know, kid," she drawled, catching the look that Arizona threw at her at the mention of the word _kid_. "Guess you'll find out one day. I mean, if you take up my offer."

Callie secretly hoped Arizona would get over her fears and whatever it was that she had against the Latina. She sensed tepidness, anxiousness from the blonde. Not to mention the two had all but tiptoed around each other after "The Kiss." All Callie remembered, though, was the feeling of the blonde's lips on hers, her hands roaming her curvy body and the tingling that she felt for hours after it happened. Once they had parted lips, Arizona walked back inside like nothing transpired, and it sort of felt like a slap on the cheek to Callie. She all but initiated it, going all green eyed monster on her.

But Callie liked that. She _liked_ jealous Arizona. That version was probably her favorite so far. She didn't take the blonde for a possessive person, but she guessed she didn't know her all that well. Something she wanted to fix but that Arizona wouldn't let her. So, Callie stared from afar during practices and class. She joked around with her as if they were old friends, taking the heat when Arizona brought out her bitchy side (the side Callie wanted to hate the most but somehow found herself turned on by).

"Mmmm," Arizona said, her head still poking around the shower curtain. Surprisingly, it was still the two of them in the locker room. "Maybe. But you'll have to behave around me, Calliope."

As soon as the word Calliope shot out of her mouth, Callie wanted to snarl like she did when Arizona used it the first time. She hated when people called her that—well, there actually was only one person who was allowed to call her that. Arizona, who usually did things to smite her, though, actually looked sympathetic when she realized what she said.

"I'm sorry," Arizona started to say, but was immediately stopped by Callie, who walked to her shower and shut the curtain, letting the hot water roll down her body—her worries going away with the steam.

* * *

Teddy sat on the couch in the living room, the T.V. blaring in the background, as Arizona walked through the door, exhaustion written all over her face. She had just returned from a late night session at the library. Her head pounded with a sharp headache, her eyes drooping with tiredness. At first, she didn't realize the other person sitting in the reclining chair on the couch as she began to talk.

"My life is in shambles, Teds," she began. "I seriously think I have already consumed more alcohol this semester than my other six semesters combined."

A low, _familiar_, raspy chuckle came from the corner, causing Arizona to swivel around to pinpoint the person. A smile threatened to take hold of her face, but she pushed it down, not wanting to let Callie see she actually was semi-happy to see her. Ok, actually a lot happy. Lately, Arizona was resorting back to her old self, the not bitchy self. But there was still something about the Latina that rubbed her the wrong way.

Deep down, she knew what the other woman rubbed her the wrong way. It's because of the feeling she had when she was even remotely close to her. A feeling she only experienced once before in her life. But Arizona knew she needed to protect her heart—she's had too many heartbreaks, in all forms, to last her for a lifetime.

So, she kept pushing Callie away.

"What's so funny, Ms. Talks-To-Herself?"

Callie sat up, and Arizona tried, she really did, to not look at the thin stretch of bare skin between the end of Callie's top and top of her shorts. That glorious, smooth, tan….mmm.

Her eyes stayed there for way too long, earning herself a nice suggestive look from the tall brunette and a laughing look from her best friend. Teddy and she had talked about this pseudo-friendship thing going on with Callie, but Arizona had not yet mentioned the kiss they shared. The beautiful, life-changing kiss that made her want more. Her lips were a drug. And she was addicted. Already. But she had to quit the addiction. She wouldn't let herself fall for her competition either.

However.

_Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. _

That phrase struck Arizona with a shock that it almost blew her away. Maybe if she became good friends with Callie, she would know how to win that starting spot. That way, she could explore her feelings while keep tabs on the competition.

It sounded awful and mean—she knew that—but it was the only logical way to give herself the boost she needed to put her heart on the line.

"We're back to that again? Really?" An exasperated Callie replied. "Listen, it's not uncommon to talk to yourself, I will have you know. And it just slipped!"

This time Arizona and Teddy both laughed and shook their heads. Teddy sat up a little straighter, eyeing Arizona with a strange look. Like she knew something clicked inside her friend's head. But then, Teddy smirked an evil, devilish smirk—one that told Arizona she needed to leave the room and soon.

"Cal, what are you up to right now? Besides rambling. Seriously, I think you have foot-in-mouth disease," Teddy chipped in. "But we should watch a movie! A little girl's night. We've haven't really hung out as a house outside of practice. Come on. I'll pop the popcorn. We can grab some brew-skis. It will be great."

Arizona narrowed her eyes as she took her backpack and set it on the table in the kitchen. Teddy followed her, apparently going to make some popcorn. Once something was in her friend's head, it never left. Also, she would badger her friends to do stuff until they agreed. It looked like Arizona really had no escape without looking like a bad friend.

"You are evil, Theodora Altman! Evil!" Arizona whispered, her eyes traveling back to the living room where Callie was situated on the reclining chair, her head propped on a pillow, her phone in her hands. "I see right through you and your evil plans."

"You love it, Arizona," she said. "Plus, I think you'll like my movie choice."

And that's how, ten minutes later, the opening credits of _Nightmare on Elm Street_ started playing. Arizona despised scary movies, something her blonde best friend did not. However, Arizona thought that Callie would like them. But boy, she was wrong.

At the beginning of the movie, Teddy shooed Callie off the reclining chair, saying it "was her movie spot—so move!" and leaving Callie and Arizona to share the small, three-cushion couch. The close proximity to the Latina made Arizona go nuts. She loved laying down during movies, but she didn't want to intrude—ok, maybe a little she did—into Callie's space. Although, she admitted that Callie probably would enjoy it. Ever since the kiss, the brunette had not been shy about her intentions.

The first scary part of the movie had Arizona jumping up, literally, and clutching a pillow to her chest. She really hated scary movies. But Callie did the same thing, except she flung herself sideways into Arizona. Before the blonde had time to process what happened, Callie's hands found purchase on her inner thigh.

Squeezing her eyes shut tight and taking a deep breath, she tried to will away the thoughts that suddenly formed inside her head. She felt her body throbbing, and she tried to will that away, too, but to no avail. Callie looked over, quickly trying to suppress the smile forming on her face as her hand squeezed Arizona's inner thigh and worked its way up a little higher.

The sound of the movie was loud enough that Teddy nor Callie heard Arizona's breath hitching slightly. Snaking her hand under her blanket, Arizona grasped Callie's hand. She first wanted to remove the Latina's hand but, surprising herself, Arizona let her hand rest against Callie's.

"Don't say anything," Arizona hissed quietly. "Don't."

* * *

The lamp provided the only light in Callie's room as she hunched over her desk, scribbling away. Homework sucked, but she reflected that the rest of her day went _really_ well. The part that made it the best was when she and Arizona shared a rather intimate moment during the movie earlier on. She didn't mean for hand to end up there, but it did and Arizona kept it there. Which was a welcome surprise.

She knew that Arizona liked her. She liked the blonde, too.

_Knock_.

"Come in," Callie said in a chipper voice as the door creaked open to reveal Arizona in her cute muffin-covered pajamas. A sheepish look adorned the woman's face, making Callie's heart melt a little at how adorable she looked currently. This was another Arizona she liked.

"Hey," the blonde said quietly, moving inside the room and shutting the door behind her. It looked like she wanted to say more but ended up just scanning Callie's room before plopping on her bed. "Your room is a little depressing, Calliope."

Again, the word popped out of the woman's mouth. "Oh, shit. Sorry, I didn't mean to say it again. It's just—your name is so pretty. And, well, it's awesome and I think you should let more people call you it. It suits you."

The last part Arizona said in a voice barely above a whisper. Callie smiled warmly, somehow not mad when Arizona said her name in a non-viscous manner. "It's fine. Just…don't say it all the time. Not around anyone else."

Arizona nodded, and Callie watched as she bit her lip, causing Callie's eyes to flutter shut.

"You can't come in her looking all adorable like that and then go bite your lip if you're not going to let me take you out," Callie paused. "I mean, you like me. I like you. We got off on the wrong foot, but I think you should let me woo you."

"Woo me?" Arizona laughed, and Callie noticed how she avoided the question. Silence fell upon them, and Callie fiddled with her rings on her fingers, waiting for the blonde to speak up. Obviously she came into her room for a reason. "Ok, so about earlier. Listen, I shouldn't have forced you to keep your hand…"

Callie's thoughts took her back to the feeling of her hand on the blonde's thigh. The way her warm, soft skin felt in hers, with Arizona's tiny hand on top.

"I'm not a creep, I swear," Arizona gushed out. "But you can't just do that. You know, put your hand there because as super as it felt, I mean. I don't know. Ok, have a goodnight."

So far, Callie liked Jealous Arizona, PJ Arizona and Rambling Arizona. Standing up quickly, Callie stood in front of her door, essentially blocking Arizona to leave.

"You're cute when you ramble," Callie said. "And you liked it, huh? It felt _super_? Because if you liked that, you have no idea what you're in for."

Blush formed on both women's cheeks.

"Go. On. A. Date. With. Me," Callie punctuated each word. "Please."

Callie Torres was not one to beg. But something just felt. She felt like Arizona needed a small push to get her over the ledge. The two were close, their breath mingling with each other's. Callie closed the gap, her lips landing on the soft ones of the blonde's—the same lips that haunted her dreams for the last two weeks. It turned hurried in a second, Arizona's hands slipping under Callie's cotton tank top and resting on her bare hips. The heat from Arizona's hands on her body only fueled her desire more. Soon, both tongues sought out the other's mouth, and the feeling of Arizona's tongue in her mouth made her heart stop.

Callie's right hand cupped Arizona's cheek while the other grasped the back of her neck, pulling her in for more.

"Yes," Arizona said between kisses. "One date."

Smiling against Arizona's lips, Callie said, "One date is all I need."

* * *

**Hope this makes up for the lack of update the past days. I've had final exams and now am almost done! Reviews are cool :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Rain, Callie deduced, always occured on gloomy days. Like in _The Great Gatsby_ when Daisy visited Gatsby for the first time—it poured, with the rain stopping at the exact time the two stopped tiptoeing around the other. Rain was symbolic. Very symbolic.

And, today, it rained.

**From: Addison**

**How are you holding up, Cal? **

Callie stared at the text message for the last few hours, opting not to respond. She hadn't moved from her darkened room since she woke up that morning. Teddy and Arizona had both knocked on her door throughout the day, but she ignored them, making it appear as if she wasn't there. In reality, she barely felt "there" anyway. Today sucked.

A tightness in her chest threatened to take over her whole body, her breathing not coming easy. Flashbacks played in her head as tears welled up and spilled over, running down her cheeks in a hot streak. She wiped them away and tried to push out the thoughts streaming through her head but to no avail.

Closing her eyes, Callie let herself drift off into a restless, unblissful sleep.

* * *

"I think something is wrong," Arizona said as she sat on the couch in the living room, mindlessly watching Netflix. "Her car is here, Teds. I mean, you knocked, too, right? It's like she's ignoring me. Or am I going crazy?"

Since she agreed to go on a date with Callie, a lot of insecurities arose in Arizona. Mainly her past with Quinn. The one girl who took everything and left nothing. The one girl who broke her heart beyond repair. The one girl who she loved with her whole being.

"Well, I won't deny that you _are _crazy, Nix, but I actually might agree with you today," Teddy conferred, using the nickname that Arizona actually liked. When the two were just starting off as friends (and before Teddy knew the background behind her name), Teddy called her a bunch of different cities in the state, with her favorite being Phoenix. Now, she shortened it to just _Nix_.

Arizona bit her lip in concentration, her mind flashing back to the last time she bit her lip. That ended well, she thought, with a smile on her face. But that smile faded when she remembered that Callie set the day of their date for today—and that certain woman was holed up in her room for some reason. A reason that, despite Arizona not knowing what it was, reminded her of why she didn't depend on other people, why she didn't date.

"What is it? You're thinking up a storm over there," Teddy said when Arizona didn't respond. She was too locked up in her thoughts that she forgot to answer her best friend. "If you're thinking about pulling away from Callie, you need to take a step back and think about what you want. Because, shit, Nix, I love you, but your mind only works in one way. And, well, sometimes, it's a good thing and sometimes it's a bad thing."

She wanted to scoff at Teddy. A one track mind? As soon as she thought that, her mind jumped back to Callie, and the blonde understood why Teddy said she had a one track mind. Once Arizona started something, it was all she thought about. That's why she was good at lacrosse. Putting her whole mind and body into it was no issue for her.

"It's just, well, tonight Callie is supposed to take me out. And there are a lot of things that could go wrong, not to mention how awful I was to her at the beginning. What if I mess things up? I don't even want to think about…" Arizona starts to say, trailing off. She meant to say 'think about Quinn' but she couldn't get herself to say it. "And I feel like she's gonna stand me up tonight. She's basically ignored us all day!"

Crossing then uncrossing her legs, the blonde attempted to get comfortable on the couch but her body was restless. Whenever something big in her life happened—like a date with a woman who controls her every thought—Arizona became jittery and nervous. All she would think about was that singular thing until it happened or she conquered it. Not that she wanted to conquer Callie (ok, maybe she did, but, in her mind, she still wanted to try to not like Callie).

"I think you need to take a chill pill, my friend. I get it, with Quinn and all that, but you can't let her hold you back. And I doubt Callie will stand you up. You're just nervous," Teddy exclaimed. "What time is your date?"

"In 30 minutes. I already did my hair and make-up. I just need to put on clothes. She said casual clothes a few days ago," Arizona responded, her mind wandering to what would happen tonight. "Should I go knock on her door or is that not appropriate? Or is it weird? That's a little weird, right? I should probably just wait for her to come get me from my room. Have you ever thought how strange it is to date someone you're living with?"

Catching her breath, she looked over at Teddy, who stared at her with an amused look. Arizona stood up and paced back and forth a little before Teddy put her arms on her shoulders, effectively making her stop. While her body stopped its movement, her mind didn't; neither did the butterflies that had taken home to her stomach.

"Callie is not like Quinn. I need you to know that. Take a deep breath. Go get ready and then show Callie how awesome you are. How _great_ you are. Ok?"

Arizona nodded.

* * *

Arizona sat in her room, waiting for Callie to knock and woo her on their date. Checking her watch, she noted that Callie still hadn't come to get her. Did she know to 'pick up' Arizona from her room? Deciding she was tired of waiting, the blonde sat up and left her room, going across the hall to knock on Callie's door.

"I'm coming in whether you like it or not," Arizona stated, turning the doorknob slowly. As the door pushed open, the room slightly illuminated from the hallway light. But, other than that, Callie's room looked even darker than normal—that's because the lights were off.

"Uh, Callie?"

A moan escaped the body slumped in the bed against the far wall. Arizona wanted to run over to the bed, but she held herself back. What if Callie just woke up from a nap? Did Arizona really mean that little to Callie? The nervousness for tonight quickly evaporated into something else, and it took all her will power to not run away. She wasn't a runner.

Within seconds, however, the Latina shot straight up. "Oh my god. Arizona, I completely forgot. Fuck. I—just, today is a really bad day for me. It's just…"

Anger bubbled up inside Arizona. She _knew_ not to trust the Latina. She was just like Quinn. Teddy can shove it because, deep down, Arizona knew this would happen. Everything in her life was good, until it wasn't. When it rained, it poured for Arizona. Not to mention that it was actually storming outside. Fucking rain. _Always symbolic, I swear_.

Slowly backing up towards the door, her front still facing Callie, she huffed, a breath of air escaping her lips. "It's whatever, Callie. I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this. I mean, we're competing for the same spot, live in the same house. I knew it was all a joke to you."

Pushing down hot, angry tears, Arizona left the room, entering the tiny hallway with a newfound sense of purpose. From now on, Callie and she were to only be teammates. Competitors, too. Other than that, the Latina needed to back out of her life as quickly as she entered into it. She balled her hands into fists as she pushed open the door to her room, slamming it loudly and locking it with a defiant click.

As she laid in bed, her mind drifted off to a little more than two years ago.

_Stacks upon stacks of books ran the length of the back wall, each one more worn and used than the one next to it. The quaint little book store, with its hipster coffee bar and tiny music stage, quickly became Arizona's favorite "get away" place on campus. _

_Sitting with a pippin hot mug of black coffee in her hand, Arizona sat in a cozy chair, a book resting on the side table next to her. She smiled into her coffee, content with her life and the way things were going for her. Lacrosse was perfect, school was perfect, her friends were perfect and her family was perfect. The only thing that she didn't have was a relationship, but she was perfectly fine without one. _

"_Is that book going to read itself?" A familiar singsong voice chirped. "Because _The Great Gatsby _is a classic." _

_Arizona looked up, her eyes connecting with the soft blue eyes that belonged to one of her new teammates. Webber just introduced the freshmen the other day, but, for the life of her, Arizona couldn't remember this particular freshman's name. It evaded her. _

"_Quinn," the dirty blonde said, sticking out her hand. "Although, I'm a little offended that you don't remember me. I _sure_ remember you." _

_The way this woman talked to Arizona made her temporarily forget to speak. Though she wasn't in a relationship, the blonde knew when someone was flirting, and Quinn was definitely flirting. What surprised Arizona was that she liked it. The way the other blonde looked at her, as if she saw through her, put her to ease somehow. Even though she already was at ease. _

"_Well, what can I do to make it up to you?" Arizona smiled, her eyes connecting with the ocean blue ones across from her. The moment she asked that she knew what Quinn would say._

"_How about you let me take you out on a date?" Quinn stated. "Actually, I am taking you out whether or not you want to go. So, yeah." _

_Forgetting that they were teammates and that this could fuck things up, Arizona stood up, winking at Quinn. "I'll pick up tomorrow at 7." _

Arizona heard a knock on her door that momentarily pulled her out of her flashback. Without realizing it, more tears had ran down her face and soaked her shirt. The wetness of her shirt clung to her, but she ignored the feeling. She hated feeling not in control of the things in her life. The fact that people can affect her this much shook her to her core, invaded her mind.

A muffled voice on the other side of the door, obviously belonging to Callie, pleaded at her to open up. She pictured the Latina's face—recently woken up, her hair in a messy bun, lines crisscrossing the arm she laid on while sleeping. Arizona imagined Callie with her hands on her hips, her curvaceous hips that Arizona dreamed about most nights. The knocking continued relentlessly.

"Please leave me alone," Arizona shouted back. "Just, don't."

Suddenly, the knocking ceased its fire, as if the white flag was waved. Except it wasn't. The one shitty thing about her thing with the other woman was that they lived and played together. Another reason why she had not wanted to pursue Callie in the first place. Again, she ventured off into her chest of memories.

_Arizona hated the way that sweat rolled down from her forehead, her eyebrows capturing the unwanted beads. But she did it to herself, choosing to take Quinn on a hike on her favorite trail in hot weather. Guiltily, Arizona admitted that part of her decision to choose this spot for their date. It looked gorgeous in the fall, despite the trek and the humidity, and she wanted to see Quinn in short shorts and tank top—she also loved how sexy her girlfriend looked all sweaty and outdoorsy. _

"_Babe, you're killing me," Quinn said, her breathing erratic due to the steep incline. "I'm in shape and all, but Webber kicked our asses at practice yesterday. Not like you would know, _goalie."

_That was the one thing that annoyed Arizona. Quinn would subtly throw in little one liners about how being a field player required a lot more work and effort. What her girlfriend didn't know was that being a lacrosse goalie was physically and, moreover, way more mentally tough than any other position in most sports. _

"_Mmmm. I do love how in-shape you are," Arizona joked back, throwing a seductive wink over her shoulder to Quinn. "A whole lot."_

"_Yeah?" Quinn said, smacking Arizona in the butt. _

_Before Arizona could say anything back, the incline rolled into a gradual plateau, and both women's quads and calves thanked the plateau for all its glorious flatness. "This is gorgeous," Arizona stated, as she looked into the distance, the foliage gorgeous in the fall weather. _

"_It is," the other woman stated in a weird voice, making Arizona sense that something was a little off with her girlfriend. _

_However, she ignored that feeling, reaching into her backpack to pull out a small, black box. Quinn didn't notice for a minute or so, though, as she stared out at the scenery, her hands on her hips, a content smile on her face. This was when she loved her girlfriend of a year and a half the most. _

_Arizona waited on one knee until Quinn turned around, and, when she finally did, a strange fixture of her face took hold. Keeping a smile on her face, despite the nerves in her stomach, Arizona launched into her speech._

"_From the moment you found me in the bookstore, I knew you were special. Then, I took you on a first date here on this trail. You held me hand and listened to me ramble on about everything and nothing. Kind of like I'm rambling now," Arizona paused, gripping Quinn's hand in hers as she took a breath. "But when you know, you know, right? The way you smile when you make a play in lacrosse, the way you know just how to cheer me up in the cage, the way you just are, that's what I love about you. And I'm not saying we have to go to City Hall tomorrow and get hitched, but I want to make you mine. Officially. Really mine. So, will you marry me, Quinn? Not today, not next month, but sometime? Because I want to marry you."_

_During her declaration, Arizona hadn't noticed the way Quinn's face changed from shock to a mixture of sadness and confusion. She hadn't noticed the way Quinn pulled away a smidge. But, once she caught her lover's eye, she noticed all at once. _

"_Quinn?" Arizona stuttered. _

"_I'm, I'm so…I'm so sorry," the dirty blonde. "It's not, well, I just. Ok, there is no easy way to say this. I was going to end things with us after today." _

_The moment those words left Quinn's mouth, Arizona felt tears leak out of her eyes. She quickly stood up, brushing off the dirt on her knees and slipping the black box back into her backpack. Arizona tried to say something but no words came out of her quivering mouth. _

"_I'm in love with someone else," Quinn said, unable to stop her word vomit. "It just happened, and I tried to fight it. God, Zone, I'm so unbelievably sorry." _

"_Who? Who is it that you fucked behind my back?" Arizona spat out. _

"_Lauren." _

_A pause._

"_You mean to tell me that, you not only cheated on me, but you cheated on me with another one of our teammates? This is some sick fucking joke." With that, Arizona took out the box again, snatching the ring out of its place and chucking it over the ledge before she all but ran down the hill that took forever to climb up. _

_All at once, it felt like that hill was symbolic of their relationship. A lot of effort to make it up the hill only to run back down in minutes._

* * *

Groaning, Callie cradled her head in her hands, a bottle of vodka sitting next to her in the living. Normally, the Latina would drink in her room, but she wanted every opportunity to see Arizona. Today, as it stood, warranted more than a few _strongly_ mixed drinks. Callie already felt herself on the ledge between tipsy and plastered.

Music blasted from the TV, with Callie nodding her head in rhythm with a popular Spanish song. Swirling her drink around in the glass tumbler, she brought the cool surface to her lips, the refreshing yet pungent drink scorching a path down her throat and warming her stomach.

Footsteps thudded on the stairs, and Callie truly believed it was Arizona, so she turned down the volume of the music. Smacking her face a few times, the Latina tried to act sober, hiding her drink and bottle behind the lamp on the table next to her. As feet stepped onto the last step, she noticed the moo-moo that Callie thought looked so cute on the blonde because, if anyone could rock one, it would be her.

The alcohol flowed through her veins and Callie could feel her eyes grow wide and her smile grow wider as the blonde came into view. The first thing she noticed, though, was the puffiness of her crush's eyes. That made her heart sink like a weight in water.

Quickly, she struggled to find her feet. In the attempt to chase after Arizona, Callie, now definitely drunk, fell to the floor, her feet catching on the rug below her. The thump of a body hitting the ground had made the blonde turn around quickly.

"I'm totally ok," slurred Callie, her voice not sounding like her own. "I'm so fucking fine."

Arizona hovered over her fallen form, her face scrunched in worry. "Are you drunk, Callie?"

"I think so, yes."

After getting up, Callie made her way back to the couch, laying her head down on a pillow. All of a sudden, her head felt heavy and the room was spinning. _Why did I get this fucking drunk? _But she knew the answer. She definitely knew the answer. Part her fault, part not her fault.

"Here, drink this water," Arizona said, shoving a glass of water in front of Callie. "I am not dealing with you puking. So drink." The blonde looked like she wanted to say more. "Also, I just want you to know that I am offended, Calliope. You make me like you, make me agree to a date, and then find sleep more attractive. I'm hot. And I could have a lot of girls, but I chose you, and you stood me up because today's a bad day. So don't ask me out again. Leave me alone. We can be teammates and housemates but that's it."

She watched as Arizona tried to storm away before Callie reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Arizona, hi, please stop," Callie mumbled, the alcohol still hitting her like a brick. "Fuck, I wanted to go on a date with you. I still do. You're hot. Like fucking really hot. And freaking awesome at lacrosse. And smart. Shit, you're everything—you're perfect."

Then tears sprang up.

"But when I picked the day for our date, I forgot what today was," Callie stated, thinking it made sense.

"You forgot our date. I get it."

Trying to sit up quickly, Callie felt her vision go blurry and her stomach hurt. So she laid back down. "No, no. Listen to me. It's not a good day because it's the anniversary of my sister's passing, ok? She…shit."

That's when she broke down in sobs. Loud, disgusting sobbing that no doubt made her look ugly and gross. She felt the couch dip, knowing that Arizona sat down next to her. A warm hand rubbed Callie's side, comforting her slightly but no enough. She hated that she did this to Arizona and she hated that her best friend in the world died only a year ago. Her sister was the one person in her family who accepted her for who she was and still loved her. Now, she had no one. No one at all. Probably not even Arizona after today's debacle.

"Oh, Callie," Arizona gently said, her hand still rubbing and soothing Callie. "I had no idea. I am so incredibly sorry. I know that doesn't help but I am. For everything today. For everything in general."

Callie nodded, her eyes slowly shutting as Arizona laid behind her on the couch, spooning her. Having Arizona's arm wrapped around her midsection and having her whispering words in her ear—the blonde's breath tickling her neck—felt like the rightest thing in the world as if they were meant to be like this forever.

* * *

Light snoring woke up an unsuspecting blonde with a jolt. It took a second for Arizona to realize exactly where she was situated before deducing that she fell asleep spooning Callie on their couch in the living room. No doubt Teddy saw them curled up like this and snapped a blackmail picture to be used at a later date.

_Date._ The thing that Arizona and Callie did not go on last night. As much as her heart ached for the Latina, she still had this sadness and anger in her about the failed date. She wished—and believed—that Callie would have said something to her about canceling their plans instead of standing her up. That hurt a lot, and her mind warned her to stay away, to run while she can. The feeling of melancholy that filled Arizona when she realized that Callie left her out to dry brought her back to Quinn.

Sighing, she tried to tell herself what Teddy said—that Callie was not like Quinn. The similarities were too hard to ignore however. Both had outgoing, strong personalities. Both were on her same team. That never ended well. Things on the team were tense, to put lightly, last season. Quinn decided to play regardless of Arizona, still dating Lauren and flaunting it in her face. Arizona never thought Quinn could be that mean; it surprised her.

However, this year, things seemed to be heading in the right direction. Quinn _and_ Lauren both decided to quit and transfer schools. Arizona knew nothing more about their life except that they were gone and that she was happy they left.

Peeling herself apart from the beautiful brunette in front of her, she slowly sat up and extricated herself from the comfy couch and comfy Latina. The other woman barely stirred in her sleep, moving slightly into the now empty spot behind her. Arizona, feeling bold, leaned down and pressed a kiss to Callie's temple.

"Stay," Callie whispered, alarming Arizona. The way the brunette said it, with such sincerity and vulnerability, made Arizona stop in her tracks. Looking back, Arizona recalled that as the moment that changed everything for her. That made her begin to fall for her.

* * *

**Another long-ish chapter (I don't know how some writers do 7,000 words per update. Those who do deserve a trophy or something). I know they didn't go on their date, and that it wasn't exactly Callie-Arizona centric with the flashbacks, but I felt it important for the plot. Also, thanks to those who review :) it always makes me more motivated. That's why I tried to write a lot for this chapter.**

**One last thing: the job I have during the summer is very demanding and I have literally no free time. With that being said, starting this Thursday and through the middle of August, I'm not sure how many updates I will have. I will TRY to have one per week, but that even might be stretching it. I just want to let you know that I am not abandoning this story. For those who read my other story (Catfished), I'm at a huge writer's block with that one but will try to continue it someday. **

**Thanks again for reading! **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Dark clouds coated the sky like a blanket on a cold day, the world growing darker and darker every second. The occasional lightning bolt decorated the sky, strong thunder claps sending sound waves throughout Chapel Hill, rumbling and shaking the ground and various houses. Rain poured from the clouds in a relentless pursuit, the grass dampening and mud forming.

Through it all, Callie sat on the front porch of her house, rocking back and forth on the white, wooden porch swing. She loved the smell of fresh rain in warm weather and the way beautiful bolts of lightning that illuminated the world briefly. If Callie could attribute one thing to Arizona, to make her an analogy of sorts, she would compare her to a lightning bolt. Dangerous, hot, electric and fleeting.

The Latina sipped on her Corona with lime, enjoying the way the sweet taste travelled down her throat—cold and refreshing. She already drank a few, but the alcohol content was so low that it took her at least a six-pack to feel tipsy. However, Callie wasn't drinking to get drunk; she was drinking for pleasure, for comfort.

As she sat on the swing, Callie thought back to yesterday, and the horrible disaster that she created. September 27th was a day that she had dreaded, and, unfortunately, she made that day even worse by standing up Arizona for their date. The moment the beautiful, bold blonde burst into her room in the evening, she immediately remembered setting yesterday as their date night. Callie shook her head as she rewound back to last night, hating herself for not realizing that the day belonged to the anniversary of her sister's death.

Her phone buzzed in her hand, so Callie placed her beer carefully on the porch and unlocked her phone to read a text from Addison. She vaguely recalled the redhead sending her a message yesterday, but she knew for a fact that she forgot to respond, caught up in her own sadness and anger. It wasn't fair, she thought, that her sister died so young. That she had no control over her own death.

**From: Addison**

**What's your address? **

Callie's face scrunched up in confusion, even though Addison wasn't there to see her facial expressions. Typing back her address, she waited for a few minutes before asking why her friend needed it. Receiving a 'no reason' response, Callie just figured Addison was going to send her a card or something of the like.

What she didn't expect was to see a taxi pull into her driveway twenty minutes later. She didn't expect to see her best friend exit the cab with a suitcase and a smile. Despite the rain, Callie popped up and sprinted down the steps and ran to give her best friend the most bone-crushing hug of all hugs.

"Addison Montgomery! You dog!" Callie said, her voice laced with excitement, her cheeks sore from smiling so much already. "Why are you here?"

The other woman picked up suitcase. "As much as I love you, Cal, can we move this chat to under some shelter? My hair and make-up do _not_ do well when wet." That made Callie laugh before ushering her into the house, offering to carry the redhead's surprisingly heavy suitcase. _What on Earth did this woman pack? _

Stepping into the house, Addison swept the area with her eyes, giving it the once-over and making sure it wasn't a dump (which it wasn't). Actually, it looked the cleanest it had been yet and that's because Callie pushed her homework aside and decided to clean this morning. This morning…Callie's mind wandered. She woke up on the couch alone, though she swore that Arizona fell asleep spooning her.

Not that she complained. After the stunt she pulled accidentally last night, Callie was surprised that the blonde even stayed with her on the couch at all. However, Callie knew she asked Arizona to stay when she got up in the middle of the night. If she stayed, Callie didn't remember—being drunk and all. Not to mention that she had yet to see the blonde today and wondered whether she was staying away because of her and because of her forgetting their date.

"It's cute," Addison revealed. "Now, take me to your room because I need to change. I'm soaking wet. And we have some catching up to do."

* * *

Teddy and Arizona were laying on the floor of Teddy's room, pillows propped up underneath their elbows and papers scattered around them. The two had decided to watch film and take notes for lacrosse. They wanted the NCAA title this year and learning about their opponents and their mistakes from previous years was one step to getting there.

"Did you hear someone pull into the driveway?" Arizona asked as she scribbled down something about Duke's forwards on a piece of paper. "I don't think Callie left today at all."

When Arizona said Callie's name, she tried to stop the heart palpitations that were triggered but it was no use. Arizona knew what it felt like to have a crush on someone, but this was completely different. Hell, it was even different than how she felt with Quinn. But she couldn't figure out exactly what this feeling meant. That alone scared the living shit out of her.

"Keeping tabs on Callie now? God, Nix, a little creepy and stalker-ish there," Teddy ribbed, earning herself a famous Robbins' glare. "Ok, ok, sorry! And no, I don't think I heard anyone pull into the driveway. Why don't you just look out the window…?"

"Someone's clever. Thanks for the tip, Teddy." Arizona stood up, her joints aching and cracking as she did so. Pulling back Teddy's curtains, she peered out the window and saw a yellow taxi in the driveway. She also saw a gorgeous redhead with luggage locked in a tight hug with Callie.

Something boiled in the pit of Arizona's stomach and invaded her logical thinking. Her mind jumped right to the conclusion that this woman in the driveway was some other woman Callie was seeing at the moment. Not like Arizona and Callie were exclusive or 'seeing' each other per se, but the Latina all but begged for her to go on a date. And Arizona accepted, despite her hesitations and worries. Seeing Callie hugging another woman—a stunning woman at that—brought up her insecurities again. What if Callie was stringing her along like Quinn did?

"What are you staring at with laser eyes, Arizona? Someone there?" Teddy asked, walking over to window. "Oh."

Arizona nodded her head, as if that one simple movement explained everything. Which, to Teddy, it did. The blonde's body was so full of tension at the moment that her neck ached from it. She tried to shake the thoughts, remembering that Callie wanted her to stay last night. That Callie looked remorseful for forgetting about their date.

"Don't jump to conclusions," said Teddy, who had moved back to the floor and pressed play on the TV, a lacrosse game from last year resuming on the screen. "Let's just watch some more film. No need to count your eggs before the hatch. Or something like that. I think it's actually chickens or something…"

The other blonde trailed off, mumbling something about chickens and eggs, causing Arizona to laugh a little. Only a little though. "You don't think that's some other woman she's seeing? Like, she wouldn't do that to me, right? I guess I don't really know her, though." Pausing, Arizona stared at the door—voices were outside in the hallway.

"Nix," Teddy said, seeing what was running through the blonde's head. But it was too late, and Arizona pounced on the situation, opening the door in a jiff, revealing the mysterious redhead and Callie across the hall. The two were laughing and leaving fleeting touches on the other as Callie struggled to open the door to her room.

"Ahem," Arizona coughed to get the attention of the other two. Jealousy filled her body and clouded her judgement, but she couldn't help it. Something was up between Callie and this woman. She knew it. They looked chummy as fuck with each other, too. Could this be an ex? An ex turned friend? Her mind ran through all the possible scenarios before she pulled out of her thoughts and focused in on the redhead.

Said redhead noticed Arizona's glaring at her, giving her a smirk and eyebrow wiggle in return, which really only fueled the blonde's apparent anger at the situation. "Oh, Arizona. Um, hi."

That simple, stumbling sentence from Callie confused her—either the infliction in her voice or the nervousness behind it. Arizona couldn't decipher if the Latina meant to sound guilty or embarrassed. She sure as hell hoped it wasn't the former.

"Um, hi?" Arizona said back, unsure of really how to proceed. Callie took a tentative step forward, her mouth open as if she was about to speak when the other woman in the hall cut Callie off—both standing in front of her and speaking ahead of her.

She stuck out her hand. "I'm Addison. Nice to meet." Arizona grabbed Addison's hand and shook it like a business transaction just transpired. The blonde watched as Callie looked between Arizona and Addison, her head literally moving on a swivel between the two. That look kept the jealousy home in Arizona. It just seemed that Callie's relationship with Addison was suspicious.

"Yeah, hi. I'm Callie's housemate and teammate," Arizona said coldly, resorting back to her bitchiness. "Why are you here?"

That earned a hearty laugh from Addison, which angered Arizona. "I like her Callie. She's a keeper." The redhead turned around again to face the blonde. "But I'm one of this lady's oldest and closest friends. Also, if you must know, I surprised her. Thought she might need my company. And I wanted to meet this mysterious woman that has Callie all up in the air."

Heat rushed to Arizona's cheeks, and she noticed that the same happened to Callie. It appeared that Addison had no idea that she was talking to the 'mysterious woman that has Callie all up in the air.' Arizona watched as Callie's hands clasped in front of her—a sign of nervousness—and as she bounced from toe to toe.

However, relief also flooded through Arizona when Addison concluded that they were just friends. Although, she actually felt a little guilty for not having faith in Callie and her other relationships. She knew she would hear an earful from the Latina whenever the two were alone together again. _Mmmm, alone with Calliope. I could handle that_. Arizona licked her lips without evening knowing it.

"Apparently, this woman is super hot but also kind of a dork. And a spaz. Isn't that what you said Callie? Oh, and she's named after a state. Which is odd," Addison continued, still oblivious that she was talking to the object of Callie's affections.

"Ok, that's enough, Addison," Callie interrupted. "We were just about to head into my room."

"You're boring, Cal! I was talking to—wait, what's your name?" Addison paused to ask.

A lightness ballooned in Arizona's body when she noticed the mortified look on Callie's face—the lightness being the fact that she got to mess with Callie like this. Poor, unsuspecting Addison was about to be equally as embarrassed.

"Arizona," she stated.

"Oh, like that state?" Addison said before her eyes widened and her brain registered what she just said. "Wait, _you're_ the woman?" Arizona nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "This is hilarious. Good job, Callie. I approve."

With that, Addison said her goodbyes and entered Callie's room, saying that she would, and quote, 'give the two lovebirds some alone time.' The second the door shut, both Arizona and Callie started to talk at the same time.

"Arizona, I…"

"Listen…"

Arizona stopped talking and gestured for Callie to keep going. She loved how animated Callie became when she talked, using her whole body to convey what she was saying. Sometimes, she would also speak really fast (and some Spanish words made their debuts, too), but Arizona liked it. It was a quirk that fitted Callie perfectly.

"I'm sorry about Addison. Although, it looked like someone was jealous…_again_. If I didn't know any better, I would say that you really like me," Callie joked, smirking. "Anyway, can I—I was wondering—could I make it up to you? About yesterday? I swear, I am not one to blow off a date. It's just…"

"It was a bad day?" Arizona helped.

"Yeah, a bad day. But I do like you, despite your infuriating personality sometimes. There is just something about you. Something telling me that I should get to know you. That you're special," Callie ended, blush creeping up her neck, her eyes downcast.

It was cute.

"You're so flattering. I especially liked the 'infuriating' part. You really do know how to woo women," Arizona joked, earning herself a genuine Callie-smile. "And maybe I want to get to you know you, too."

Pause.

"But the one thing I won't tolerate is what happened yesterday happen again. I—that, well, it felt awful. And I get it. Why it happened. But it still hurt a lot. You make me like you and agree to a date, something I don't agree to between teammates, and then you hang me to dry," Arizona continued. "But I think I want to get to know you, too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Can I hug you?"

"Yeah."

* * *

Teddy knocked on Callie's door, not waiting for an answer as she pushed it open. She had just watched Callie leave to go to the bathroom to get changed for "Sunday Funday" at Joe's, a ritual that started Teddy's sophomore year. Anyway, the reason she went to the room at that exact moment was to meet, and plan, with Callie's best friend.

"Hello?" Addison said as Teddy came into view. "You must be Teddy. Callie told me about the woman who took her under her wing the first couple of weeks."

Teddy nodded her head as she stepped into the room further and locked the door behind her. She didn't want Callie or Arizona busting in when Teddy asked the redhead for a favor. That favor being to secretly set up a date for the two tonight. After the failed attempt last night, Teddy wondered if a date would ever occur between the two. They kept making promises and saying cute things to each other (she overheard more then they knew).

"I am. Great to meet you. Any friend of Callie's is a friend of mine," Teddy replied. "But I'm actually here to ask for a favor."

"Go on."

"I want to get those two nimrods to go on a date. Tonight," she explained as the other woman cocked her eyebrow.

"You've got my attention."

"So here's what I'm thinking…"

* * *

Arizona applied the last of her make-up and inspected herself out in the mirror. Teddy had reminded her that they had a date with Joe's tonight for Sunday Funday, which prompted the blonde to fix herself up a little because she assumed that her blonde friend invited the two women across the hall to join them, and Arizona wanted to look hot. She wanted Callie to drool over her.

"You ready to go?" Arizona asked Teddy once she entered Teddy's room. By the looks of it, however, her friend wasn't even halfway ready to go out. Checking her phone for the time, she noticed how late it had gotten already.

"I am definitely _not_ ready," Teddy said, sounding a little overly dramatic. "I don't think Addison is ready yet either. But I think Callie is. How about you two drive together and we'll meet you there. I don't want to keep you up late. I know you have a long day on Mondays."

A little part of Arizona had a party in her head at the thought of spending a few precious minutes alone with Callie. Though, it also made her a little nervous. "Yeah, sure. We can meet you there."

Teddy, rummaging through her closet, stuck her head out. "Great! We're were thinking about trying this new place, though. I'll give you the address. It's not too far away and I heard it's great. Joe won't mind us checking out another spot."

Arizona figured why not and typed in the address of the new bar into the map application on her phone, saving it. She bid Teddy a temporary farewell, a 'see you soon,' before heading over to Callie's room to retrieve the hot Latina. She wondered whether these fifteen or so minutes alone in the car would be awkward.

"I guess I'm taking you to the bar while our two slowpoke of friends get ready. I swear, Teddy never usually takes that long," Arizona huffed as she walked into the room. The moment her eyes found Callie, she was rendered speechless by the Latina.

The sight before her made her salivate. Like, she actually drooled a little bit because, in front of her, Callie stood there wearing barely-there jean shorts and white tank top. Both of which left a lot of exposed caramel skin. Her hair fell in waves around her shoulders, and Arizona swore she had never seen a more gorgeous sight in her life.

"Eyes up here, Robbins," Callie said, taking her pointer and middle finger and pointing at Arizona then back to Callie's eyes. Unbeknownst to her, Arizona had apparently been staring at some places not very discreetly.

"Whoops," Arizona responded nervously. "Ready to go?"

Callie nodded and said her goodbyes to Addison. Before the two exited the house, however, Teddy came rushing down the stairs. "Oh, hey, I forgot to say you could drive my truck instead of your car, Nix. I remember you saying you were low on gas." Teddy threw the keys and, without waiting for a reply, ran back upstairs. "See you soon!"

Something felt off about Teddy's behavior. She was acting really out of sorts, which is unusual for her. Normally, she would just throw on jeans and a t-shirt for the bar. And she never let Arizona drive her 'precious baby' of a truck. Shrugging her shoulders, Arizona shook it off and led Callie out to the car.

"You're going to have to be the navigator," Arizona said, buckling as she put the truck in reverse. "If that's ok."

Driving down the street, Arizona chanced a look over at Callie, who was staring out the window, the moonlight illuminating her face as trees rushed by outside. She looked so at peace and content, and Arizona could have stared at her for days.

"So," Arizona began nervously. "You look really good, Callie. Like, really, really good."

Callie's head swiveled towards Arizona but not quite. The blonde kept her eyes on the road ahead of her, never making more than a seconds worth of eye contact with the bombshell sitting mere inches away from her in the front seat of the truck. The windows were rolled down slightly, letting in a breeze and giving enough room for Arizona to stick her one hand out the window.

"I know," the Latina responded, her voice full of knowing and joking. "But thanks, Arizona. You look nice as well."

"Only nice? I need to try harder then. I don't want to just be nice," Arizona began. She loved hearing Callie's soft laugh at the things she said. It made her heart flutter a teeny bit. A good teeny bit, though. "But I'll take the compliment."

Keeping her left hand on the wheel, Arizona moved her right hand down to the space between Callie's body and hers. Not courageous enough to take Callie's hand, she let it sit there for a few minutes while she worked up the balls to hold the Latina's hand. And she wanted to hold it. It seemed right and easy.

But then, her mind flashed back to the one time Teddy let Arizona drive Quinn in her truck, how her ex-girlfriend reached over and grabbed Arizona's hand tightly. The way that Quinn gave her this wanting look.

So, she put her right hand back on the wheel. _One step at a time_.

However, apparently, Callie had noticed the blonde's retreating hand, and Arizona heard a soft, sad sigh escape the brunette's beautiful lips. It was a crushing sigh, a sigh that made Arizona feel guilty for lacking the courage to do something so simple.

"This bar sure seems in the middle of nowhere," Arizona commented idly, trying to make small talk after the hand debacle. "I've never been out here before."

"Yeah, me either. Though, I've only been about in a two mile radius from campus," Callie offered. A long pause ensued after that, as if both didn't know what to say yet wanting to say everything at the same time. Callie broke the silence. "Why did you move your hand away?"

That took Arizona by surprise although it shouldn't have. Callie had always seemed very vocal—at home, on the field, in the classroom. She wasn't shy, and Arizona liked that about her. It was one of the reasons, besides her obvious beauty, that she was drawn to the Latina.

"Callie," Arizona stated sadly. "It's just, I'm not good at this stuff, ok? I'm trying with you. I am. And I do really want to hold your hand. I'm nervous."

"Why are you nervous, Arizona? Do you not trust me?" She sounded hurt.

_Arizona Robbins, you were raised to be a good man in a storm. Suck it up and grab her hand. Don't be a wuss. You are awesome. Callie is awesome. And she wants you. She likes you. Don't ruin it_, Arizona scolded herself mentally, giving herself the guts to reach over and remove Callie's left hand from her lap. Taking the Latina's soft hand in hers, she laced their fingers together and rested them on the center console.

"It's not you I don't trust," she said, trying to find a way to put it to her that she had been hurt badly in the past. That she didn't know how to act anymore. Arizona hadn't even slept with anyone since Quinn left her—well, besides the night after the failed proposal when she got absolutely plastered, forgetting most of the night. "It's my past."

"Arizona, everyone has a past. We've all experienced hardships, heartaches and breakups. And thankfully we did or else I wouldn't be here with you," Callie gently said. Those words left Arizona weak in the knees and she thanked her lucky stars that she was sitting down and driving. Had she been anywhere else, she likely would have fallen due to sheer romance on Callie's part.

"Why was I so mean to you earlier? God, you're perfect," Arizona all but whispered, even though she knew Callie could hear her. "Sorry, that sounded a little creepy."

Callie smiled, squeezing Arizona's hand. Their hands fit together like puzzle pieces, perfect and only meant for another piece. It comforted Arizona in a good way. That maybe all that had happened to her in the past happened to lead her here. Wherever here was and would be.

"It's ok. I like it when you're not a bitch to me."

Extricating her hand from Callie's, Arizona gave the brunette a playful shove in the shoulder, pushing Callie against the passenger door. Both were laughing hysterically for no reason. Arizona attributed it to release of nerves; she loved it all the same regardless.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it, Calliope."

Before the Latina could responded, the GPS voice told them that they were about to arrive at their destination. However, the street was desolate except for houses and a drive-in movie theater. Arizona drove a little slower, turning left when Callie told her to turn.

"I thought we were going to a bar? Not a movie theater," Callie said. "Maybe you put in the wrong address?"

Arizona's phone pinged, signaling the arrival of a text message before she could respond to Callie. It was from Teddy.

**From: Teddy**

**Movie's on me. Enjoy ;) oh, and there's a blanket in the bed of the truck. Get cozy. But not too cozy or else you're power washing it.**

"That son of a gun," Arizona mumbled. "Teddy and Addison must have plotted against us. We weren't supposed to go to a bar. I think they set us up for a date."

"I think you're right. Damn, I wanted to woo you," Callie pouted.

Giving Callie a wink, Arizona pulled the car forward to the ticket booth, rolling down her window to talk to a pimply-faced teenager who looked mighty bored. The place itself didn't look to grimy up ahead, but Arizona also noticed the lack of cars in the lot. Actually, there were none at all.

"Are you Arizona?" The young teen asked in a nasally voice. He seemed fixated on Callie, however, and Arizona gave the kid a scowl.

"Uh, yes?"

"Well, my boss owed your friend Teddy a favor, so the whole drive-in is yours tonight. Enjoy," he said, sounding less than thrilled. "The movies are _Cinderella _and _The Avengers._"

He pointed ahead, lifting up the machine arm that blocked cars from going through without paying. She drove forward and picked a spot right in the middle of the lot. The two exited the truck and climbed into the bed where Arizona spread a blanket down.

"There's even pillows. Arizona, Teddy is definitely a player. She probably uses this truck to pick up guys," Callie laughed as the two got settled in. "But I'm glad she has it. More space to cozy up next to you."

Arizona jokingly slid further away. "Oh, sorry, Calliope, I like my space."

Giving Arizona a glare, Callie scooted over towards the blonde, snuggling up against her side, the two pressed against each other in a delicious warmth. Callie snaked her arm around Arizona's waist while Arizona proceeded, almost at the same time, to wrap her arm around Callie's shoulder.

"Hmm, you like your space, huh?" Callie bit her lip as she stared at the blonde. Leaning in, she pressed her lips softly and gently against Arizona's. "Well, too bad."

* * *

**Two updates in two days? It's a miracle. And this one is long! More on the date next chapter. Also, I will probably fast forward time a little to the spring. That way it will be in-season for the two (aka drama, sorry). There will be more background for each in the next few chapters and more lax in the next ones as well. It's only just getting started. **


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

She tried. Callie tried really tried to focus on the movie playing on the screen, but the only objection of her attention was sitting right next to her. The two had barely spoke more than a few words once the opening scene started playing; however, Callie knew the blonde to not be paying much attention to _Cinderella,_ too. How could either of them when they sat in such close proximity, their bodies melded together underneath a cover of blankets.

In a whisper, though, Callie reckoned, they didn't need to be quiet, Arizona brushed her lips close to the Latina's ear, sending shivers down her spine. The warm breath of the blonde blew into her ear, the tiny hairs standing up. "Why don't you like it when I call you Calliope?"

Callie wanted to tell Arizona—she wanted to tell her more about herself than she had every told anyone previously. More than her handful of exes, more than her parents and Addison. The moment she stepped into the house and saw Arizona a month ago, Callie felt a pang of something strike her heart, like a beautiful chord played by a harpist.

But did she want to subject Arizona to the tragedy in her life on a first date? Did she want to share the gruesome details of a sister lost too early, too young?

"You can tell me, you know? Contrary to the first couple of weeks I knew you, I actually have been told to be a good listener," Arizona said, her voice still an octave lower than normal. A small hand reached up and took hold of Callie's cheek, gently guiding her head so that their eyes connected. So that Callie couldn't escape. "When you want, I'm here."

The hand gripping Callie's jawline started to slowly drop, but the brunette reached up to keep it in place, relishing Arizona's touch on her face. "The first time you called me Calliope, it took me by shock. Only one other person in my life consistently called me that. Well, I mean, I guess my papa barked it every once in a while when I was in trouble," Callie paused to let out a short laugh, "but I usually don't let anyone continually call me that—only my sister, Aria, was afforded that privilege."

Arizona had removed her hand from Callie's face, opting to rest her head in the crook of Callie's shoulder and neck and entwining their fingers together in a tight lock. Comforting Arizona was now Callie's favorite, although she still found enjoyment in Jealous Arizona. Dropping her gaze, Callie's eyes brimmed with unshed tears, tears she needed to let out in mourning for her sister.

"Oh, Callie." The blonde's voice laced with undertones of sorrow and remorse, empathy and sadness. "It's ok. You don't have to talk about it."

"No, I want to tell you. I have this urge to tell you everything: the good and the bad. And you deserve an explanation after yesterday," Callie said, a small smile on her face. Taking a deep and uneven breath, the Latina used her free hand to wipe away a stray tear before continuing. "I just really don't know where to begin, I guess, because there's just so much to it. Aria was not only my twin sister but my best friend. We grew up doing everything together. I was the athletic one, she was the artistic one. We would play house and gossip and talk boys. She was the first one to know that I swung both ways. And she didn't care. At all. She looked at me square in the eyes and said, 'I wish I was as brave as you.'"

Tears escaped her eyes, silently streaming down her face as Cinderella ran away from the ball in the background. Callie related to the blonde on the screen, running away from her problems, from all the things she didn't want to deal with in her life. Or, at least, that's what Callie perceived.

Callie let her head rest against the crown of Arizona's—the blonde's head still fitting perfectly into the space between her shoulder and neck. It was a couple of minutes before Callie continued, wanting to let Arizona into her life more.

"When my parents found me half-naked in my bed with a girl the summer before my first year of college, they gave me an ultimatum. Either I stay in Miami, work at their company and go to community college or they cut me off. I was scared back then, not nearly as brave as Aria thought I was. So I stayed. I mean, I already tore my ACL, so I figured a true college experience just wasn't in my cards," Callie sighed, thinking back to that summer and the two years that followed. Arizona clutched Callie's hand tighter, using her thumb to soothingly rub the back of the Latina's hand. "So, while I stayed home in Miami, Aria chased her dreams, heading up north to attend Ohio State for college. Things seemed…ok. Not great but not awful. Except, every day I woke up feeling like some other person trying to live in a world I wasn't meant to live in, you know? I wasn't true to myself. I tried everything. I took up different hobbies. I got back in-shape. But something just felt off. It took until I fell in love with this woman to realize that was what was missing. I introduced her to my parents, stupidly, and they told me I was going to hell, that I was an abomination. The whole shebang. They cut me off completely. It sucked…I was broke and alone. But through it all, Aria stayed in contact with me, Skyping me often and making sure to send me some money from her trust fund to keep me going. I actually spent a few months in Columbus with her. Then, a year ago yesterday, I got a call from her best friend at school. Apparently, she was the designated driver for her friends. She was always responsible like that. But that same night, someone else _wasn't _responsible. Aria got T-boned by a drunk driver, the car hitting her square on the driver's side. She was dead on sight."

Callie hadn't realized that she had talked for so long, that she had been sobbing through it all. Fingertips belonging to blonde swiped away the tears that fell, stroking her cheeks in the process. Thinking about her sister brought up so much about her life—about the hell she went through in these last couple of years—and it made her appreciate where she had come since then.

"Calliope, I can only imagine," Arizona said in a small voice, obviously not sure how to respond or what to say. Callie learned that people wanted to help but didn't know how to do so. "I had no idea you were that alone in the world. I am so sorry for the way I acted those first few weeks. God, I can't even image what you thought of me."

"I thought you were a jerk. But a beautiful, intriguing jerk," Callie jested, laughing through the tears. "Thank you, though. It means a lot. And I'm sorry for unloading that on you. I can't say it didn't feel nice to talk to someone besides Addison about it."

The two moved their heads from their current resting position, with their bodies still touching, still pressed tight against each other. Callie wanted to say something more if only to lighten the mood. What a kill joy she felt like on their first date. That was definitely like fifth date material. With Arizona, though, it seemed natural to talk about that stuff.

On the screen in front of them, the Prince had climbed all the stairs to the attic where Cinderella lived, slipping the glass shoe onto her foot, it fitting perfectly on the woman's foot. "Must be nice," Callie said absentmindedly, earning herself a questionable look from her blonde companion. "You know, to find your soulmate. To find the perfect fit."

Arizona hmm'ed in response, staring the screen with interest. Her eyes were scrunched up as she watched the ending scenes. For a brief second, Callie swore she saw tears in the corners of Arizona's eyes. Something about the movie hit the blonde—that much Callie could tell. She instantly wondered about Arizona's past. The woman next to her had walls built so high and so impenetrable that Callie speculated whether she would ever break through.

While the second movie was getting set up on the big screen, Callie watched Arizona hop out of the bed of the truck and turn on some music to fill to silence.

'_Cause I don't wanna fall in love if you don't wanna try._

_But all that I've been thinking of is maybe that you might._

_Baby, it looks as though we're running out of words to say_

_And love's floating away._

_Just say you love me, just for today._

_And don't give me time 'cause that's not the same._

_Want to feel burning flames when you say my name,_

_Want to feel passion flow into my bones like blood through my veins._

The music provided that background song that you saw in movies while two lovers sat in different rooms, longingly staring out the window as rain poured out of the sky. Something clicked in Callie as the song's melody quietly played. Why couldn't she be happy again? Why didn't she deserve everything in the world?

"You're staring," Callie murmured. Out of the corners of her eyes, she noticed Arizona gazing at the Latina's profile. "I get it, I'm gorgeous and all, but staring will cost you extra."

The trance the two were in broke with that ridiculous joke, and Arizona laughed, rolling her eyes in the process. "What can I pay you in then, Calliope?" The blonde had a glint in her eye, her words rolling off her tongue seductively. Callie loved this playful side the two shared. It proved much more satisfactory than their bitching back and forth the previous weeks.

"Oh, I think you know."

Arizona wiggled her eyebrows, completely turning her body around to face Callie's side. In seconds, a weight landed on the Latina's lap, the blonde practically straddling her in the bed of the truck as the thunderous fighting scene in _The Avengers _played in the background. Arizona's muscles tightened, and Callie relished in the feeling of the taut muscles working against her body. Heat flamed up inside her, like a fire igniting in the coldest of winter days.

Anticipating what was going to occur, Callie shut her eyes, waiting for blonde lips to touch hers. Time paused—or it sure seemed like it. The blonde inched forward slightly, Callie's breath hitching at the possibility of kissing Arizona once more. Her eyes still shut tightly, Callie felt the blonde's warm breath on her lips. _So close_. Just as Callie nearly closed the gap, the weight that belonged to Arizona's body on her lap disappeared, a thud coming from right next to her.

She opened her eyes.

"You're cruel, Arizona Robbins," Callie stated, running her fingers through her unruly hair as she attempted to slow down her heartbeat and calm her whole body down from that little interaction the two shared. The blonde gave her a menacing look, all but telling her to 'bring it.' And the one thing she knew about Arizona was that she would bring it.

"Mmmm. Cruel? No. Likeable? Yes," Arizona ribbed. The movie had long been forgotten at this point as the two now faced each other once more. Like a boxing match, the two had been throwing punches at each other all night, getting closer and closer to the knockout. That knockout, hopefully, equaling a great date and a great goodnight kiss.

"Very likeable," Callie stated back, no tone of joking present. She turned serious, as she often did early on in relationship (much to her dislike since it always backfired on her). As soon as her voiced turned serious, she noticed the slight shift in the blonde's demeanor. There but not there. Smiling but scared. "Can I ask you something?"

To cross the line or not? Take the leap or stay on the ship?

"Calliope…" Arizona warned. The Latina sensed that, while she herself had no qualms about being open and sharing information, the blonde was the opposite. But oh how did she want to know everything about the woman sitting across from her, staring at her with those deep blue eyes. Callie had formed connections with those who she dated in the past before—having stronger connection with some more than others—but, with Arizona, Callie couldn't quite place her finger on why she was drawn to her the way she was. Surely, after the shit she got from the woman at the beginning, she would have been repelled, turned off, but she wasn't.

"I just…I want to know you. Your life. The things that make you the way you are. And I get it. This is a first date, and I overly shared like normal, and now I am going to keep rambling because that's just the way I am. But, I like you. And I shouldn't but I do. So, yeah, I want to know why you acted the way you did to me—you know, before. Just…clue me in," Callie blurted out, stammering the whole damn time.

She cringed a tad, thinking about how she promised to 'woo' the blonde on their first date, and, here they were, with Callie having foot-in-mouth disease. This was why she was single. This was also why, after tonight, she would probably remain single. That made her sigh.

Unknowingly, Callie scooted farther away, as if her mind told her to give the blonde some space—literally. But, to the Latina's delight, Arizona retook that space, her legs centimeters away from Callie's legs. Arizona offered a small smile, one of her specialties, her head a little cocked to the side.

"I want to tell you," Arizona whispered into the night. "But I need time. I…I can't."

Callie watched as tears streamed down the other woman's face. Reaching up, she took her thumb and stopped the salty mixture from running further down Arizona's face. "Ok."

Even though it went against all logic, Callie leaned in, her thumb still grazing Arizona's cheek, the other woman quivering. The two had shared a couple steamy kisses and a few soft ones but no tender ones. So, that's what she did. Her lips connected with Arizona's, trying to convey the rush of emotions that flooded her. Their lips moved in tandem, synchronized to the beat of their hearts. Hands grabbed faces and pulled closer, each deepening the kiss.

Then they pulled away. Callie wanted to groan at the loss of contact, but she held it in.

"I think the movie's over," Callie commented lamely—super lamely after they just shared a rather intimate moment and, well, overall, an intimate date. Especially for a first date. "Can I take you home?"

Arizona gave her this look. "No, no, not like that! I mean, we live in the same house and it's late and you're shivering from the cold. I swear, I'm not like that. Not forward. Or anything. I would like that one day, but it's too soon. Unless you don't think it's…"

Lips reconnected with her lips once more, effectively silencing Callie.

"Yes, you can take me home."

* * *

**Not my best but I wanted to update because I won't have the chance to even write another chapter until Thursday at the earliest. Thanks for reading and all the awesome reviews! **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"You like her. A lot," Teddy hedged as she and Arizona sat at the bar.

Both had drinks in front of them that they sipped on. Arizona wanted to protest. She felt the words about to roll off the tip of her tongue. She liked Callie – that was true. But she didn't like her _a lot_. That was stretching it, she mused, because she only went on one date with her. And that date happened a week ago. How could you know if you liked someone that much after one date?

"Mmmm," Arizona hummed, not wanting to either confirm or deny her friend's assumption. She swirled the straw in her drink around, placing her lips on top of the straw to take a small sip. The alcohol went straight to her head, always, and the blonde already felt the effects of the vodka taking over.

Teddy scoffed, playing shoving Arizona's shoulder. "Just admit it, you turd. I know you do. It's so obvious. The way you two look at each other all the time around the house when you think I'm not looking. Let's don't even get started on the 'innocent' touches you two seem to always have."

Laughing, Arizona shook her head at her drunk best friend's antics. It was Sunday, and, per usual, the two were at Joe's for their Sunday Funday, making up for last week's miss due to the spontaneous date with Callie. "Are you stealing words from Addison now? Turd? Really? That's a little uncalled for my friend."

All Teddy did was shrug in response, leaving Arizona to only narrow her eyes.

"And, no, I don't like her a lot. Ok? I like her a little. I don't really _know_ her that much yet. Is it such a crime to want to take my time with a relationship?" Arizona argued, her drunk persona completely taking over at this point. She wanted to say more – the words were about to roll off her tongue – but Teddy gave her this wide-eyed look. Actually, Arizona laughed to herself, she looked like a deer in headlights.

Why the hell did Teddy give her that look? Arizona wondered briefly before trying to put two and two together. Then it clicked, like most things in her life did. "She's standing right behind me, isn't she?" Teddy nodded, and the blonde quiet literally slapped herself (ok, she slapped her thigh because if she slapped herself in the face, people would think she was completely insane; well, maybe she was but that was beside the point, right?).

Spinning around in her chair, Arizona came face-to-face with Callie, who, by the way, looked smoking hot in her get-up for the night. Standing right next to the girl she went on a date with was Mark Sloan, notorious man-whore and all-star lax bro. He had racked up quite a few records at UNC over the last three years. The two were both the same grade, and, as freshmen, he tried repeatedly to hook up with Arizona – that was until Arizona made out with another woman at a house party right in front of him. However, the two remained partial friends over the year. More out of the fact that they were in the same grade and major and played the same sport.

"So, bad time to say hi? Or no?" Mark asked, a glint in his voice. For some reason, Arizona could see Mark getting all turned on by a little girl-on-girl fighting. "Torres, I'm going to get a beer for me and a couple of shots for you."

With that, he walked towards the other end of the bar, with Teddy following suit, leaving the two women alone at the bar. Arizona noted the twinge of sadness in the brunette's eye. Yeah, she knew about Callie's past history with her family and sister, but Arizona knew there was more to that story, more to Callie's sadness. And that came out in full force at the moment. The brunette was very expressive. Very.

"Callie…" Arizona started, always feeling like a grade-A ass in front of the other woman. "I, well, shit. How much did you hear?"

That sounded awful, she knew, but it was all she could think of saying at the moment. Hell, the blonde would bet money that she slurred a few of those words as well. Damn alcohol. Vodka always got to her. "Why do I feel like I am always back tracking with you? I'm an awful human being, and I am so sorry. What you heard is not true. I mean, I don't love you or anything."

Arizona paused, wanting to slap herself again because, _damn, _she sucked at talking to women apparently. Especially when inebriated. As she connected her eyes with brown ones, she sighed as she noticed tears glistening in Callie's orbs. She really needed to step her game up.

"Fuck, this is coming out all wrong, Callie," she laughed, though nothing was even remotely funny – except, well, maybe her level of intoxication. "Can I start over? Please?"

Callie nodded, ushering her to continue. Arizona craved Callie's touch at the moment and, instead, settled for patting the bar stool next to her for the brunette to sit on. Once Callie took a seat next to her, she reached out tentatively and placed her left hand on Callie's right thigh. For a second, she swore that she heard a sharp intake of breath from Callie but, honestly, she didn't doubt that she imagined it at this point.

"You can talk at any point, you know? I'm not that scary. Or am I? Am I scary?" Arizona said curiously. "I'm getting way off topic."

The way she said way was exaggerated, with arms stretching wide as she said 'waaaaay.' That, at least, earned a chuckle from her companion. Before she continued to talk, the bartender set down two tequila shots in front of Callie. Arizona assumed that Mark bought them for Callie and watched as she downed both in a swift motion before shaking her head and scrunching her eyes as the alcohol ran through her body.

"You're drunk, Arizona," Callie pointed out. "Drunk Arizona is weird. Not in a bad way."

Arizona rolled her eyes up to look at the ceiling as a downward smirk came on her face. Maybe talking to Callie right now was a bad, bad idea. But she needed to explain herself. Just a little. She didn't want Callie to always think of her as an asshole because she wasn't. At all, which was why she had to make up for the past.

"It's hot in here. And I want to talk with you about…" Arizona paused. "About things. So, let's hop on outside? If that's ok? Or not. You can just tell me to shut up at any moment. I ramble. So do you actually. It's cute. That you ramble. And that I ramble. That we _both_ ramble."

Arizona watched as Callie snaked her hand down from the bar to grasp Arizona's hand that rested on her thigh. Then, she watched – a little detached, albeit, due to the alcohol – as the brunette signaled for the bartender for some water. Quickly, the bartender picked up a plastic cup and sprayed water into it, sliding it right in front of Arizona. Greedily, she took it, chugging the water as quickly as it came.

In a flash, Arizona felt Callie hoisting her up and taking her outside. The blonde though that the other woman couldn't be that mad at her at the moment since she still held onto her hand. That had to mean something.

The cold air hit her as soon as the two stepped outside. It was still autumn, which meant that it wasn't extremely cold outside – just a slight chill in the air. Arizona steeled a glance at the brunette, who, she had no idea why, still liked the blonde. Or she did before tonight.

"How are you feeling?" Callie asked, concern in her voice.

But, as soon as Arizona opened her mouth, vomit worked its way up her throat. Putting up a hand, Arizona bolted away and ran to the alley right next to Joe's. Hurling, she expelled her earlier lunch onto the concrete. She heard footsteps come closer and closer, and she hated that Callie wanted to come take care of her. If anything, Arizona grew up as an independent woman, learning how to take care of herself. She despised others seeing her in a weak state. And, especially, she hated those she liked romantically to see her this way.

"Please, go away," Arizona mumbled, her stomach about to heave once more. "I'm ok. I'm ok."

"No, you don't get to do that, Arizona," Callie retorted with a bite, taking Arizona by surprise. No one had talked to her like that before (beside Teddy). "You can't do this to me, ok? You can't push me away when you want. I like you. And I know that you like me, too. Stop fighting it."

No one understood her. Never. Her heart hurt all the time because of her shitty past with women. Not just with the failed proposal but with all the women before and after that. She had no luck in the relationship department, and she hated that it held her back like it did. But, yet, it did.

"Just," Arizona sighed heavily. "Fine. But I don't need someone to hold my hand or tie up my hair. I am a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"You don't get it, do you? Well, I am going to say this in the hope that you understand what I am trying to convey," Callie said, running her fingers through her hair, a sign that Arizona knew meant she was frustrated or turned on. And she knew that the brunette wasn't turned on at the current moment. "I think, deep down, you want someone to take care of you. You want that. You crave that. But you push people away because something happened to you in the past. Something that broke your heart and your trust. But I can promise you that I won't do that. I won't. You're special, and I think you know that. Let me in. Don't keep me out."

Blowing a piece of stray hair from her vision, Arizona let the feeling of throwing up wash over her. She didn't want to have this conversation drunk. Not at all.

"I don't know what to say," Arizona said honestly. She really had no idea what to say back because she wanted to scream 'yes, you're right' but she also hated feeling that vulnerable. Vulnerability and reliance were two things she absolutely hated. "But I do know that what you heard inside was not what I feel. I think I do know you. And I do like you."

Admitting that took a lot out of Arizona, and she felt her eyes grow heavy from the events of the night. All she wanted was her bed. Slowly, she slumped down the wall, making her best effort to avoid her vomit on the ground.

"Let's get you to bed, ok?" Callie asked, gently stroking Arizona's arm and making the blonde feel at peace for once in her life.

The last thing she remembered was Callie tucking her into bed, the covers over top of her body, and a chaste kiss on her forehead.

* * *

A ball whizzed past her face, hitting the net behind her. Arizona wanted to yell and curse, but she held it in and kept her head high. One of the defenders on the field left an attacker wide open in the 8-meter for a free shot right at her. Arizona thought she read the shot correctly, but the shooter threw in a fake that sent her for a loop.

"Next one, Arizona," Bailey yelled from the sideline. This was the last practice until their scrimmage against Syracuse, and she needed to prove herself as the starting keeper. Yeah, she liked Callie but she still wanted to play and start – feelings be damned.

Practice continued on, with Arizona making some impressive plays. Callie stopped a few good ones, too, and Arizona really had no clue who would start in the game. That made her nervous because she was Arizona Robbins – she always started and always played. She kicked ass and she knew it.

However, she also was nursing a huge hangover and that probably affected her at practice this morning more than she'd like to admit. This was why she never drank the night before practices, though it seemed that her best friend had a different opinion during this fall ball season.

Suddenly, a whistle sounded, signifying the end of this morning's practice. Arizona took off her huge, suffocating helmet. Her hair was matted due to sweat, and she would bet money on how unattractive she looked at the moment. But, as she ran into the team circle, saddling up next to Callie unknowingly, the brunette lightly touched the small of Arizona's back and winked at her ever so slightly. Both the touch and wink sent shivers down her spine.

"Good work out there," Callie whispered in her ear. All Arizona could do was nod in return, not even thinking about complimenting the terrific saves the brunette made earlier. Arizona figured it would be awkward between the two today after last night's fiasco, but Callie brushed it off during practice. However, Arizona would be amiss if she didn't think the two would talk later this evening.

Webber walked into the middle of the circle like he always did after practices, but this time he sported a contemplative look. That worried Arizona because she knew he was thinking about how to break the news of the starting line-up to the team. Arizona's stomach felt queasy – from both last night's drinking fest and the upcoming news – and she swore she would barf soon if Webber didn't announce the starters.

To her credit, Arizona noticed the calmness that Callie exuded in the moment and wondered why she couldn't be more like that. Her nerves always got the best of her, except in games. That's when she shined. That's when she was confident and sure. This, waiting for Webber to talk, was not her forte. It sucked.

"The van for the scrimmage this Saturday will leave Friday evening, giving us plenty of time to travel to Syracuse and get some rest. I will email the details out later this week," he paused. "As for the starting line-up, I just want to tell everyone that this is not permanent and anything can happen between now and February at the start of the season. Keep pushing yourself and your teammates to do better and strive for that spot. It will only make us better."

Arizona gulped. He never gave speeches like this. Her heart tumbled around in her chest cavity, making her feel like she was suffocating. It didn't help that Callie still looked fine. No nerves at all. What was with this woman? Why can't she just be like the rest of us?

_Then you probably wouldn't like her, _Arizona told herself. _You like that she's different. _

"Our midfielders will be Little Grey and Yang, with the center being Altman. On attack will be Kepner, Adamson, Big Grey and Shepherd. On defense is Pierce, Stevens, Wilson and Edwards. And lastly," again he paused, causing Arizona to almost faint, "in goal will be Robbins."

An audible sigh of relief escaped Arizona's mouth. It didn't mean she would be the starter come season, but it meant a lot to be starting for the first scrimmage.

"However, Torres, you will switch into the net for the second half," Webber tacked on, deflating Arizona once more. Yeah, she was starting, and, yes, she should be happy for Callie because of whatever relationship they sort of have, but Arizona Robbins preferred not to share. She liked having it all. She supposed that was better than nothing (but moot point).

Webber dismissed the team for the locker rooms, and Arizona took that opportunity to bolt to the locker room. The sooner she grabbed her gear and left, the longer she had to not deal with talking to anyone about having to split a game. She especially didn't want to see Callie because she _knew_ there would be a scowl on her face and malicious words thrown around if the brunette even brought up the subject. And, after last night, she didn't want to put them in an even bigger hole. Arizona already owed Callie an explanation for last night.

Her plan didn't succeed, however, because, unbeknownst to Arizona, Callie made it into the locker room before her and waited at the blonde's locker. Her face looked happy and sad with a twinge of nervousness mixed in there. Arizona approached cautiously, throwing her stick onto the top of her locker. No one else had wandered in yet.

"So…" Callie began.

"So…" Arizona responded. The two both stared at each other, each at a loss for words.

Callie crossed and uncrossed her arms a few times, a tall-tell sign that she was nervous. And anxious, too. "You're mad."

Letting out a little sarcastic laugh, Arizona had to rein herself back in from a lashing remark. She was trying, she was, but, like she noted previously, Callie did something to her. Made her want to be a bitch. Hopefully that subsided, but, due to the nature of their complex relationship, she doubted it would truly fade away.

She shrugged. "Yes. A little. I mean, I'm proud of you. Happy for you, even, but mad for myself. Does that make sense?" Callie nodded in affirmation. "Also, can…do you have some free time after classes today to talk? I can order some takeout and we can veg on the bed in my room."

That perfect grin formed on Callie's face and Arizona was quickly smitten by the look the brunette gave her. After last night, she would have bet her life that the Latina wanted nothing to do with her. However, it seemed Callie was a forgiving soul.

"That sounds great," Callie said just as the rest of the team walked into the locker room. "I'll see you in class later."

Arizona nodded, gathered her stuff and headed to her first class, her body still trying to understand the feeling she got every time Callie smiled at her.

* * *

The smell of Chinese wafted in the hallway, making Callie's mouth salivate. Praying that the smell came from Arizona's room, she ventured out into the small aisle and knocked on the blonde's door. She assumed that Arizona didn't mind her coming over a few minutes before they decided that they would talk. It wasn't a date – that much she knew – but her heart still pounded as if it was.

"Come in," a soft voice replied, prompting Callie to push open the door. The sight in front of her made her smile. Arizona was wearing her moo-moo again, sitting cross-legged on her bed with plates of Chinese in front of her. The blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun and the TV was on a music station playing soft jazz.

"This smells heavenly," Callie said as she plopped down next to Arizona, asking her with her eyes if she could take a bite of some of it. When Arizona nodded, Callie picked up a fork and started digging in. "Oh, shit. This is freaking fantastic."

"Right? I always get Chinese from the same place. Never fails," Arizona explained, her mouth full of food, too.

For the next ten minutes, silence took over as the two made their way through heaps of food. As soon as the food was gone, though, Arizona started to bite her fingernails, and Callie knew she was about to talk about the previous night. Callie admitted to herself that it hurt to hear that the blonde said she didn't like her a lot and that she didn't know her, but Callie sensed there was an underlying reason for that.

"I'm sorry," Arizona blurted out, sort of catching Callie by surprise. "For everything last night. I didn't mean what I said, though I can't remember all of it…" that made Callie chuckle "…but I do know that I said some pretty shitty stuff to Teds that is untrue. I do like you a lot and that scares me because of my past."

The dreaded past. The thing that caused Arizona to act the way she did.

"So I owe you an explanation. You spilled your story to me and I held back, and I shouldn't have. That was wrong of me."

Callie opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but Arizona put up her hand. "I proposed to my girlfriend not too long ago, and she turned me down. Her name was Quinn and we dated for a while. I thought she loved me. I thought we were truly happy and in love. I actually thought I loved her. But, looking back, I loved the idea of her. Cliché, I know, but true. It hurt when she said no initially. But what hurt more is that the reason she said no is because she loved someone else. She had been cheating on me for months without telling me."

Callie felt her heart crumble for Arizona. The blonde had tears in her eyes, her hands clutched into fists. Reaching out, she put a hand on one of Arizona's fists, prying it open and tangling their fingers together. "The worst part is that Quinn played lacrosse, too, and left me for another girl on the team. I had to spend a season with them dating before they both transferred. It broke my heart. Shattered it, actually. And I've recovered a little. But then you came along. You're gorgeous, beautiful, but on the lacrosse team. And vying for the same spot."

Knowing where this conversation was going, Callie interrupted, "Oh, Arizona. I don't know what to say to make your heartache go away. At least your past heartbreak. But what I can tell you is that I get why you acted the way you did now. And I promise you, I swear, I will not do to you what Quinn did. Apparently, that woman had no idea what a catch they had."

Arizona leaned over and gave Callie a kiss, a short, chaste kiss but one that made Callie's heart flutter. This was what it felt like to have strong feelings for some – what it felt like to have a connection like that.

"Thank you, Calliope. Really," Arizona whispered. "I promise, too."

The two lips connected again, with Callie pushing the blonde onto her back and crawling on top of her. They hadn't done anything more than kiss but Callie was ok with that. For now. The deep kiss lasted for minutes before Callie sat back up, essentially straddling Arizona. That position caused both women's cheeks to flush before Callie quickly rolled over next to the blonde.

"Also," Arizona began, "one last thing. The school that Quinn transferred to is Syracuse."

Well, shit.

* * *

**I won't be able to post for a couple of weeks (I'm so sorry!) but I am really that incredibly busy and will not have wifi for those weeks. At all. But I will try to update as soon as I can for both "Her Reason" and this story. Thank you all for reading and leaving awesome reviews!**


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